Order vs Chaos
by ShadowsEmbrace13
Summary: The Vytal Festival is a time of peace and celebration. This isn't the case for everyone and, at the end of the day, victory and defeat can be a matter of opinion. Every day must end and a new danger is always ready for tomorrow. The price to pay can be very high. 'Destiny's Web: Bk III'
1. Tournament Dawning

**In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Glynda closed her eyes and counted to ten. This was a tactic she normally used when trying to calm down after her students (mostly half the first years) did something she did not approve of. Recently though, someone else had been trying her patience.

It wasn't that she didn't understand the General's problem. It was that his argument was very short sighted and circular.

"The question James is not whether we can trust this information." Ozpin seemed tired as well. "It is whether we can afford to _not_ trust it."

Zephyr had been the mole in Beacon. However, he had merely vanished into thin air. He had given some information to them and that was where they were having the problem. Not for the first time, Glynda was wishing James had stayed in Atlas.

"This could be a trap." A perfectly valid point, but it was only a possibility.

"And what if it is not? Our record searching hasn't turned up any suspects."

Zephyr's application had not been suspicious. Even James had agreed with that when he read it. There was only one odd thing and that was merely that he had left the 'hometown' box blank. Quite a few did that, normally due to bad memories, and it wasn't a required field. From a certain point of view, the fact there wasn't a guardian listed was another, but again that wasn't abnormal.

"That is assuming he wasn't the only accomplice. We have no evidence of that. If so, then his team are the most likely suspects."

Zephyr and Blake had not been at the temple with the chess pieces with Ren and Nora. They had selected their pieces separately and that was how they were on the same team. Glynda didn't think they had tricked that.

"You may see the footage of their Initiation if you wish," Ozpin offered. "Personally, I think that particular team was formed by accident."

"I'll be the judge of that." Glynda resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Were there any teams that you know were _not_ formed by accident?"

"RMEY. You could argue CRDL."

"Of course it's RMEY."

"If you wish to discuss them, I suggest we call Qrow," Glynda interrupted. Those two were a very old argument and James knew that Emerald was part Maiden and had been traumatised by them. He was still convinced they were compromised.

With how frustrated he was, James did not want to add a 'discussion' with Qrow on his to do list.

Ozpin decided to move the conversation along. "I have had someone look into CRDL and their families. There was nothing to suggest they are involved in illegal activities."

"So we're back to square one."

In front of Ozpin was a transcript of Mercury's and Zephyr's final conversation, before the latter disappeared. There were also a few letters the two had exchanged after that, though they only really had Mercury's word for this and that was where a lot of the problem was.

Ozpin and Glynda trusted Mercury's word. James did not.

It wasn't surprising, but it did result in many circular conversations, in which nothing was done. That annoyed James even more.

Ozpin brought up the footage from Initiation and allowed James to view it. Save for RMEY, none had even discussed what chess pieces they picked up. He backtracked through all the years and came to the same conclusion: none of the teams had conspired during their Initiation. They probably had before, but those plans had most likely fallen through on execution.

While James was doing this, Glynda examined the transcript on the desk, with focus on one particular section.

'One: I was not the only mole at Beacon now, but I was at the beginning of the year.

Two: the only other ones claim to come from the school they pick for a _very_ good reason and it is only one team.

Three: they are very interested in stories and technology that doesn't exist.'

They were all rather easy to understand. The third point was, by far, the most worrying.

Maidens were the obvious thing and only two were known, one having only a little of the power. Did they know who the Summer and Winter Maidens were?

The prototype aura transfer machine had been stolen just over ten years ago and James had reluctantly admitted he had no idea where it was now. Glynda hadn't known about anything like that until Mercury showed them one of Zephyr's letters. She had known that Atlas was studying aura from a scientific viewpoint, but that machine was several steps too far.

The Relic was also a target.

However, there was much more that the general public were unaware of. Exactly what were they focused on?

With Emerald better, maybe it was time to try to convince Qrow to go off again. They still had eight days before the Vytal Festival Tournament started and they needed to confirm or dispute rumours.

* * *

Normally, Ruby didn't pay much attention to Professor Port's class.

Today was different. She could focus a lot easier and found that, in Professor Port's stories, there were mentions of Grimm she had never heard of and you had to be paying attention to catch their weak points.

How had she not noticed that before?

 _Oh yeah. I found him boring._

Or had she just changed?

Ruby hadn't been the only one. Blake had changed as well and had been willing to tell them that she was a Faunus and even that she was in the White Fang. Ruby may have already known that, but that had been from her Emery and Blake may not have known that. Her teammates and JWMP hadn't known about it at all.

Unfortunately, Weiss didn't take it well. At all.

When she started to rant about Faunus, Ruby hadn't been sure what to do. However, when she started on Faunus in general and not just the ones in the White Fang, Yang had angrily cut her down. Ren and Nora had also argued for Blake. While the rest of Weiss' team tried to calm her down, Weiss had become snippy to Blake.

It had been the first real argument any of her friends had had since their first week.

Maybe that was the reason Yang discouraged Ruby from telling Weiss the full truth about Emery's past for the moment. Blake actually agreed with her on that.

Zephyr hadn't returned to Beacon. It was like he vanished into thin air.

'Zebrina' had been renamed 'Burgundy', with Blake as its leader. It had been Ren to ask Professor Ozpin for that and he had allowed it. While it was very rare for a team to only have three members, it was not unheard of.

Ruby knew there was a White Fang meeting tonight. Mercury went to it in his winged fox aura animal. When he told her it had ended, Ruby went outside to wait for Blake and Sun. Yang went with her while Em stayed with Merc.

Blake seemed trouble. But she hadn't gotten into trouble this time.

"Are you okay Blake?" Ruby asked.

"I'm fine. It's just disappointing. There was no Torchwick this time."

"There were fewer new recruits than last time," Sun chimed in. "So that's a plus."

"It'll work out Blake," Yang encouraged. "Things like this don't sort themselves out overnight." Blake gave her a look. "Yeah, okay. Bad choice of words."

"Besides, since the train they found, there's been no White Fang anywhere except at these meetings."

Sun had a good point. That made Ruby smile. Despite what else had happened, stopping the train had been a mission to be proud of.

"They didn't say where they are now, though," Blake responded. She began to lead the way back to the school.

"Maybe they don't have a plan." Sun got three disbelieving glances. "I mean for a short while. Maybe they're waiting for something and if that something doesn't happen, then they won't do anything."

It took three goes around Ruby's head before that made sense.

Then she agreed with it.

"Exactly." Yang thought so too. "So let's not think much more on that. Matter of interest Blake, are your parents coming to the play?"

"Hang on. Hang on." Sun was almost panicking. "Your parents? Your parents are coming?"

Yang had an evil grin.

"As we're in the play, our parents get the priority tickets." Blake hadn't talked to her parents in a long while. "I haven't messaged them yet, but I expect they'll come."

"Seriously?" Sun's voice actually cracked there.

Blake giggled. "You'll be fine Sun." She turned to Yang. "I'm guessing your Dad and Qrow are coming?"

"Yep! And probably with a camera too, knowing him."

Ruby was still mortified to find out Yang had filmed their dance and, more importantly, _sent it to Dad._ That was totally uncalled for. Yang still teased her about those lady stilts and tried to get her back in them.

"Filmed?" Blake asked, frowning slightly. "Guys, did Mercury actually _read_ the script before he agreed to be the stage hand?"

All eyes were on Ruby then. She twirled her fingers. "He…um…may have agreed to a different one? He knows we changed it but he hasn't read the new one yet." It was more of a guideline anyway.

Yang and Blake laughed. Sun gave them a very blank look. He looked at Ruby, who shrugged. She could see the joke, but she hadn't meant to be cruel. She thought he would enjoy it, but he would just refuse on principle.

Still, she would have to give him the 'script' tonight. Emerald had been in on it with Ruby and so had told him what they needed for props and the stage. He had never been interested in the 'script' because he thought it didn't affect him. He was a little wrong.

"It is partly his fault Blake," Yang managed out after a while. "What is he expecting from a play written by Ruby and Nora?"

Blake thought about it for a moment. "That first one did seem odd, come to think of it."

"Exactly."

Despite the problems they were having with Weiss, she had agreed to help with the play, though she didn't want to be in it. Then she made a very slight alteration, which just made Nora and Ruby laugh even more, and said she wouldn't mind if there was a spare spot. They were perfectly happy with it.

"So…What kind of play is it?" Sun pressed.

He got three shrugs in unison.

"Do I even want to know?"

Three shakes of the head.

"Now that's getting creepy."

"Only now?" Yang chuckled.

Ruby idly wondered when the fairgrounds would be completed. Hopefully very soon.

* * *

Taiyang was now alone in the flat again. Qrow had gone off somewhere, but Tai was sure he would be back before their kids fought in the Tournament.

At the moment, Tai was enjoying the peace.

He had gotten quite a shock when Qrow first mentioned he had visited a different world for two years almost instantly. At first, he thought that Qrow had gone to bed remarkably early and had had a weird dream, despite him knowing better. The pictures he saw through his aura were too bizarre for even Qrow's imagination. He was also far too happy for someone who had woken up from a dream.

It merely took a glance at his kids to be convinced completely. They had changed from that morning. They were more mature, yet more cheerful and carefree. Emerald had gotten over her depression and was back to the calm, yet playful teen.

 _And Mercury…_

Tai had seen through that mask straight away. He wouldn't have needed anyone to point it out. Like the others though, he had missed all the (very few in hindsight) tells that showed Mercury was a Faunus. That itself wasn't an issue; what happened to his animal traits _was._

On top of that, their time there had affected Ruby and Yang in a more negative way. They had seemed tenser and almost nervous under their enthusiasm. He wondered exactly why. Hopefully, the Vytal Festival would help them relax.

 _Not likely though, with everything that's going on._

Tai turned the page.

Qrow had kept a diary. It wasn't about the events that took place there (Qrow gave him a lot that Ruby and Yang didn't know). It was about the four kids. Every prank they had pulled. The first time Ruby burst into rose petals. Emerald's willingness to actually approach people rather than restrict herself to Ruby's and Yang's friends in the second year. Yang was choosing to talk through problems rather than smash her way through them. Mercury had successfully raised a little creature from baby to adulthood and his behaviour at each stage. Little things and everything.

Everything Tai had missed about them growing up.

They may not be physically older, but they were mentally older.

That hadn't stopped Yang and Ruby trying to impress him with their increased power over the weekend. Emerald had been very affectionate towards him and Mercury never even tried to vanish from his sight or maybe he had always been in Mercury's sight.

He did have a good chuckle at Qrow's expense for the name Mercury (only Mercury) had dubbed him. The next time Qrow changed into a crow, Tai was dropping white paint on him.

 _They fixed his Semblance._

He had also grounded his four kids. Even they didn't argue they had it coming.

If he could have, he would have grounded Qrow as well. He settled for putting _a lot_ of pepper into Qrow's flask when he was sleeping. Nothing too cruel as he had acted more mature than normal when he realised he was one of the more responsible adults.

Qrow. Mature. Boggled the mind.

Tai chuckled as he turned to the next page.

 _Good grief. They've figured out how to do that? Scratch that. That's possible? Note to self: keep a close eye on the amount of Dust they have at all times. Second note to self: confiscate Dust when they get into a lot of trouble. Third note to self: there is probably nothing too ridiculous they can't do, so at least entertain that they were responsible for whatever impossibility Glynda complains about._

Words may have been what Qrow used, but they weren't the only things in there. Tai had noticed when he picked it up that, starting on the final page and going backwards, were illustrations. They were very good, very detailed and very beautiful. Qrow had no explanation as to why the very first included Taiyang (who this Luna had never met), Zwei (who she had also never met) and Talaria (who didn't exist at the time) along with Qrow and the kids. The ones after were probably from line of sight, such as Ruby dozing in a library, resting against Yang's shoulder as she studied.

Maybe he would find a way to get them framed.

Tai was greatly enjoying the words at the moment. At least, he enjoyed the context if he chose to ignore that someone (Zephyr, one of their friends) decided to stick his son in a deadly tournament that was stopped due to high fatality rates. One training session had been Mercury doing push ups with Ruby (trying to) meditate on his back. Later on that night, Ruby and Yang still sucked at poker.

Maybe in twenty years, Tai would let them gamble properly. Maybe.

He sighed. It angered and saddened him that he hadn't been there for his kids when they needed it.

 _They came home. All five came home._

Even so, that didn't mean they were out of danger.

Tai would breathe a lot easier when the Vytal Festival was over.

 _Now…Where was I? Oh yes. Emerald and Mercury had just turned a bunch of kids into canaries after the other two got them the sweets. Another lecture on morals is needed here, though Yang and Ruby should at least know better._

* * *

"Jaune?"

Jaune glanced at the door before looking at the floor again. "Hey Pyrrha."

"…Can I come in?"

He wanted to be alone but… "Sure."

Pyrrha quietly closed the door behind her. After a moment, she sat next to him. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. It was just an argument." Mostly from his side too. A very avoidable argument in hindsight.

"Want to talk about it?"

No. Come to think of it… "Shouldn't you be with your parents?"

"We're going out to dinner later." Pyrrha was in her battle attire. She probably wanted to get changed. "But I'm not expected for another twenty minutes. Melody's giving them a tour."

"Oh…Right…My sisters are probably dolling up with HION. No idea about my parents."

"They're being entertained by Ren and Nora."

Why did Pyrrha know that?

"Oh." Jaune hesitated, then sighed. "It was just an argument. It'll work out. Eventually."

"If you're sure…"

"I shouldn't be here Pyrrha." She knew this. She was the only one who knew he forged his way in, even if the others had guessed. He would be surprised if some of them hadn't. "I would have died at Initiation if you hadn't saved me."

"You're welcome. You've improved since then Jaune. Maybe you weren't ready then, but you're doing your best."

"It's not enough Pyrrha. But that's not the problem. I just…They said that I would always be welcome at home. I mean…They said it before I even left but it just didn't occur to me that I might have never seen them again."

"That wouldn't happen now. I know this can be frustrating for you Jaune, but you have come very far. You will be a magnificent Huntsman."

Maybe. But it didn't change the fact it would be based on lying and stealing. That wasn't what a Huntsman stood for.

Jaune shrugged. "Doesn't mean I deserve to be one."

"Jaune." Pyrrha put her hand on his. "It's not about how you start. Remember, a lot of our friends started off for personal reasons. You train; you make yourself strong enough. You never gave up. That is a Huntsman."

That didn't really cheer Jaune up very much.

He had been in a very good mood that morning. He had been in an even better mood during the play itself. For once, it wasn't just him being the idiot. All of them were. Had Ruby or Nora chosen that 'plot'? Pyrrha hadn't stepped onstage, but had used her Semblance to help the set do what they wanted.

Why had he argued with his parents? Something had just made him so _angry._ He wasn't even sure what.

Pyrrha filled the silence when Jaune didn't say anything.

"Don't worry about it Jaune. Let's just enjoy the Festival. Now isn't the time to worry about anything."

That was something Jaune could agree with. With so many friends, he could avoid his home troubles if he really wanted to.

 _That would be the coward's way out._

Jaune would think on it. For now, good times lay ahead. The fairgrounds would be finished very soon and he was going to do his best in the Tournament for that person he had heartlessly replaced.

"Thanks Pyrrha. I'll let you get changed. Have fun tonight."

Besides, he would probably make up with his parents very soon anyway. They were far too supportive of him and his dreams.

* * *

Weiss was having dinner with Winter. While she hadn't sent any messages to her father in months, she had asked if Winter wanted to come see Ruby's and Nora's 'play'. It wasn't normally something anyone in their family would do, but Weiss had enjoyed it.

"I must say Weiss: that was a very amusing piece of theatre." Winter had enjoyed it as well.

"Thank you. I only made a minor addition but most of it was due to two people. Everyone involved had their own additions too."

"Does that mean everyone who was onstage?"

"And a few that were backstage. They were just as key to the success of the performance." Ironically, the one person who _planned_ to be off stage had been onstage. He had enjoyed the role though.

"It's good to see you getting along with your classmates so well."

Weiss' face fell. "Yeah. Most of them."

"You're having problems with them. That sometimes happens."

"This is…a little more serious."

"Then you need to make a choice Weiss. Is your grievance with this one more important than your friendship with them?"

That had been the main problem.

"It's not that simple."

"Or you are making it too complicated. What exactly is the problem? Was it with someone that was involved in that play?"

Weiss closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It is with one of them. They're a Faunus and were with the White Fang once. I have known them well since the beginning of the year, but I didn't know that until recently. I don't know what to do."

Winter was quiet, thinking it over.

Then she spoke. "How did you find out about what they didn't tell you before?"

"She told us."

Winter nodded. "And she knew of the Schnee background beforehand?"

"I guess so."

"Are you sure?"

Weiss thought back. "Yes."

"And she still chose to tell you. Did she phrase it merely so that you would know, out of trust, or to try and sever ties with you?"

That was easier to answer. That did not mean Weiss liked the answer. "Just so I would know." Was it a matter of trust? Maybe Blake hadn't known about the full war between the White Fang and the Schnees.

"You were very comfortable with everyone on stage and they were very comfortable with you. Was that an act?"

"Well…It wasn't entirely an act."

"Even with her?"

"…Yes."

"So what is your choice Weiss?"

From those questions and a logical point of view, the choice was obvious. She had known Blake for months and, until recently, had given her no real reason for anger. That also meant she had lied to her for months.

"I'll talk to her."

"That is the best choice."

It was a non-answer. "She was a White Fang member Winter. That makes her an enemy."

"Every time, you have used past tense. Is she still with them?"

"Well…no. She says she's not. She didn't agree with the violence, so she left."

Winter nodded. "Weiss, we are both aware of what Father has done to our Grandfather's company. We both chose to leave." Winter had even been disinherited. "It is your choice Weiss. Just look at everything before you decide."

Weiss frowned as she looked down at her lap. "It's not that simple."

"Is it worth losing your friend over?"

"No."

"She has been honest with you Weiss. Be honest with her and go from there. There's no need to deliberately make enemies. We have enough. Have you made your choice about the Schnee Dust Company?"

Weiss winced. "No."

Weiss had chosen to train to become a Huntress. She had chosen Beacon over Atlas. However, what she did when she graduated, she was unsure of. Winter had entered the Atlas military, which was common in Atlas. Huntsmen and Huntresses graduating from Beacon were significantly more diverse among all of Remnant. Weiss wasn't sure if she would return to Atlas after she graduated.

If she didn't, she was very sure she would be disinherited and Whitely would become the next heir. Weiss did not like that thought, but then she had never really gotten along with Whitely.

"Weiss, you are still young and have so many responsibilities. Take your time thinking through your future."

Weiss returned Winter's smile. "Are you staying long?"

"Only until the end of week. I am needed back in Atlas." Winter leaned back as Weiss' shoulders slumped. "I expect I will soon be stationed in one of the ships around Vale."

Weiss perked up. "Really?"

"I still won't be able to see you often, but I may be able to get some time off." That made Weiss' night. "How has your time at Beacon been?"

Weiss opened her mouth to respond eagerly. Then she struggled with exactly what she wanted to say. "It's…very different from home."

Winter chuckled. "So I had heard. Your group of first years seem to have quite the reputation. How much did you contribute to that?"

"More than I would admit to the others. I am more of a supporter than a planner when it comes to those situations."

"But you enjoy it."

The grin grew much bigger. "Greatly. I originally agreed because it helped train my Semblance, but it was much more fun than I thought."

"That is good to hear. It would have been a waste to go to Beacon if you didn't enjoy it. As much as Father may disagree."

"He is not in charge of me."

"Remember that Weiss."

That smile remained on Weiss' face for the rest of the week, even after Winter had left. She was ready for the Vytal Festival Tournament to begin and was very eager to test herself against her opponents properly, no more holding back for tactics.

This was going to be excellent.


	2. Fun and Games

**In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

"Welcome to the Vytal Festival Tournament!"

This was it.

"4 Kingdoms. 32 teams. Only one winner!"

The big one.

"The rules are simple. Every team will fight at least once: 4 vs 4. The winners of that round will advance to the second round: the 2 vs 2 round. Then we move on to the one on one finals."

"School year, actual age and experience are all irrelevant. All that matters here is skill."

"And the teams that will be opening up the 40th Vytal Festival Tournament are…Team Apricot from Vacuo and Team Remedy from Beacon!"

Ruby bounced, almost cheering with excitement. A squeal escaped anyway. Yang ruffled her hair. Ruby grinned back and gladly led the way to the centre of the arena.

 _We're first up!_

Emerald caught her before her hopping caused her to hit the roof. Her arms didn't calm her down, but the kiss did. "Deep breaths Ruby."

Ruby was excited. She wasn't nervous.

Mercury rubbed her back. "Easy Ruby. You're going to burn yourself out before we even get out there."

"I won't."

He poked her nose. "Of course you won't."

Ruby stuck her tongue out at him. She pulled it back before they entered the arena. It was _big._ More to the point, it was _awesome!_

Everyone was cheering.

Their friends were cheering for them.

Yang grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up.

Ruby had seen APRT around, but she hadn't really spoken to them other than to exchange pleasantries. They tended to keep to themselves, even with others from their school. She knew their names as least: Avis, Pike, Rafa and Tage. She didn't know their surnames though.

Avis had a sword with tiny spikes along the blade. Pike had a curved spear of some kind. Rafa had dual katanas. Tage had a machine gun. If any of the weapons had other forms, Ruby couldn't wait to see what they were.

"Both APRT and RMEY are first years in their respective schools and have yet to fight on the big stage. This is looking to be quite the debut."

Ruby, giddy with anticipation, readied Crescent Rose. She had been looking forward to this all year.

Yang looked just as excited as she did. Her Emery were more relaxed, but Ruby could see they were alert. They were sizing their opponents up, deciding who they were going to focus on. While they could work as a team, four on four matches were very unpredictable and divide and conquer was the common strategy.

Rocky terrain rose behind them and plain grassland in front of them.

"3…2…1…Begin!"

Ruby was off.

She had been aiming to swipe at Avis, but she and Pike had switched positions and there was no one exactly where Ruby was heading. She did managed to catch Pike's side, but he recovered quickly. Ruby blocked the first hit.

His second was interrupted when Tage was literally thrown into him. Ruby backed off. That was a mistake; it took a few seconds for them to get up again.

"Ooh…That's going to leave a mark," Doctor Oobleck announced.

Mercury was now by her side. He had gone for Tage to stop him from being long range.

Tage's machine gun changed into an almost square sword, not unlike Blake's. Mercury tapped her arm twice. Ruby nodded. What was different here was that Tage held it like Cardin did and he usually battered people, not tried to slice them.

Pike and Tage moved first.

Ruby and Mercury slid to opposite sides, causing them to meet in the middle. Ruby aimed low while Mercury went high. Crescent Rose easily took their legs out from under them while Mercury's kick sent them flying across the arena.

A blast from Yang's gauntlets. Ruby turned around as they sounded very close by. Rafa had literally been a few feet behind her and Yang had just knocked her back. They were duelling; sword on fist.

From the fights Ruby had seen, close quarters tended to do better than long swords or whatever when they were close enough to be effective.

"And Emerald takes Avis for a spin. Home run and Avis is eliminated."

Seeing that Mercury and Yang were doing well with the remaining three, Ruby glanced at the scoreboard. Avis had 30 aura, but was out by ring out. Emerald was still on 92 and she had now joined on the three vs three, yet mostly one vs one mess. Yang was on 87 and Mercury was on 93, although Ruby had been warned it wasn't accurate with him and so he had to be fair if it said his aura was gone. She herself was on 90.

Ruby's eyes caught Tage bringing the club towards Emerald's head. She narrowed her eyes, but before she could get there, Em had sidestepped and Yang had blocked it with her gauntlet. She then twisted around and threw him over her shoulder. He landed on his feet.

This left her vulnerable to Pike, but Ruby chose to crash into him and swing when he was disorientated. While she hit him with her tackle, to which he grinned at her, he dodged her swing.

Mercury spotted this, but he also spotted Ruby had slightly lost her balance as she hadn't anticipated Pike's dodge. His vambrace knocked into Crescent Rose, helping Ruby to find her feet.

 _How does Em do this in heels?_

Yang protected them while this was going on.

Then she ducked so Ruby could hit them. Rafa was hit and stumbled. Avis dodged, but she had to step into Emerald's range to do that.

The good thing here was that APRT were now too close for them to be at their best.

Yang and her Emery were perfectly happy to be so close. Ruby would prefer more distance and Crescent Rose was better for her sniper rifle right now rather than the scythe. She was just getting in the way here.

There weren't many good sniping positions though.

 _They're not going to let anyone target me so…_

Ruby dashed back. She wasn't great at close quarters, but she could shoot very well. The rocky terrain wasn't great for sniping, but the rocks were good for hide and seek. If she heard a warning, she had plenty of places to go.

She wasn't a fan of sniping though.

As it happened, she missed more than she hit, but she didn't fire often. She was more interested in stopping them from moving apart too much. If her family missed one, they tended to hit another as they were so close.

Their weapons needed room to swing. Yang and Mercury remained far too close. Emerald had backed off a little and was doing the same thing Ruby was: boxing them in.

APRT didn't allow that for too long.

Avis stabbed her sword into the ground while the others protected her. After a moment, a wave rumbled across the ground.

RMEY might not know what would happen if that hit them, but they knew it wouldn't be good.

And that was before the battlegrounds began to crack.

"That is some serious seismic activity!"

"I would estimate around 5.1."

The bit in the middle of the arena where they started was unaffected. Rocks were getting thrown in the air and there was now more dirt visible than grass.

For Ruby, this wasn't much of an issue; she would just head up, petal style. It wasn't much of a problem for Mercury either; his entire fighting style resulted in him spending a lot of time off the ground and his timing was perfect. Yang and Emerald were struggling though.

Yang solved this by using Mercury as a spring board when he flipped back to avoid a spear swipe.

Then _she_ started to destroy the battlefield.

At least she got Avis to stop.

Then she picked up on what Mercury was doing. He was trying to herd them back together. One glance at Yang and Emerald was all Ruby needed to know about their unspoken plan. She could help with that.

Strike and retreat, though she wasn't trying to get them angry.

 _Not yet…not yet…not yet…Now!_

One final hit from Ruby and they were in the perfect place.

It had taken three weeks for Emerald to manage wrapping multiple opponents with those chains in her weapons (which she still hadn't named). She had had a lot of practice since.

Yang's fist + opponents at high speed from opposite direction = pain.

And the end of the match.

"That's the match and what a way to open up the Vytal Festival Tournament! Team Remedy is victorious! Now we will have a brief interlude as we fix the arena."

 _We won! We won!_

Ruby was bouncing up and down again.

 _We won!_

They just laughed.

* * *

Amber had initially planned to watch the Vytal Festival Tournament from the stands. Her concern had brought her to Professor Ozpin's office instead. Until they had an idea about Cinder/Salem's plans, they had to be cautious and Amber had found she wasn't in the mood to pretend everything was fine.

The atmosphere in the office was tense.

As it happened, the three others in the room were just as interested in the tournament. Amber wasn't familiar with APRT at all, though she couldn't say she was surprised that RMEY were, somehow, in the first match. Qrow had only returned that morning. For some reason, he had been in a bad mood after he left the office and not before he entered it.

"What happened to Black's eye?" General Ironwood asked. Amber had forgotten about that. "It wasn't like that for their play."

"It was," Professor Ozpin responded. "His mask is rather special. Most don't register it and so assume that the eye is normal. It would appear it does not work on a camera."

"And what happened to it?"

"The result of a bite from a venomous snake after his aura had been removed."

 _I'm very sure it was flaring, but same difference._

"And Qrow never mentioned this? I would have thought he would want a replacement."

"Why would Qrow mention it?" Amber asked curiously. As far as she had noticed, they were a very private family and Qrow had some problems with the General. There were other places to get a prosthetic, though they probably wouldn't be as advanced.

"Because Atlas technology is the best on Remnant."

"When I discussed his options with him," Professor Ozpin said as Glynda opened her mouth, "Mercury said he would much rather wait for Emerald to fix it."

 _Hence all the studying Emerald has been doing in preparation for that._

The General glared before turning back to the battle.

There was no denying the four worked very well together. A glance was all it took for them to communicate and they knew each other well enough not to need to talk to know another's plan.

Amber would not be surprised if they won the whole tournament, especially if it was Emerald and Mercury they put forward.

"Nothing out of the ordinary?" Amber asked. She was flicking through the faces of everyone in the audience, even if she was sure it was a futile gesture.

"Nothing we caught," Glynda replied.

"It is a little soon," Professor Ozpin commented. "I think we won't have problems until the doubles round at the earliest."

"And we aren't prepared for it," General Ironwood growled. "Ozpin-"

"I understand how you feel James, but we cannot do too much." Amber wasn't entirely sure if Professor Ozpin had just been saying that before, but they certainly knew that feeling now. "Remember, to the outside world, we are living in a time of peace. If we are too bold, then we will cause the very panic we are trying to prevent."

"We have two possible suspects."

Glynda groaned. "Back to this again?"

"Suspects?" That was news to Amber. Hang on… "You still think Emerald and Mercury are compromised?"

The General gave her a very suspicious look. "You don't?"

Her honest answer: "No, I don't. I think the incident with the train showed that well enough. They could have sabotaged that and none of us would be any the wiser. Also, Zephyr Solgale clears them and he would not have worked with Marcus Black's son. At least at the time."

"He had no problem exchanging letters."

"And the first three were about what Mercury knew about one of his father's clients, which he didn't know." Doing the math, Mercury would have been around seven at the time. "The rest was information he had gained about the war we were fighting there, not here. That leaves us with the three pieces he gave from the beginning."

"Which we only have Mercury's word on."

That was a fair point. From Glynda's groan, it was also a point brought up often. Amber chose not to comment anymore on what was already a debated topic.

"She's not here."

"Another problem: Sustrai won't show us what Cinder Fall looks like."

"Semblances are linked closely to emotions," Glynda retorted. "Particularly emotional trauma. It is not much of a surprise. Given Emerald's past, I'm sure Cinder was very close to her, at least from her point of view."

Azure had initially been desperate to be useful to her new family before she started acting out to be sure they wouldn't get rid of her. While Amber hadn't known that Emerald hadn't used her Semblance to show them, she couldn't say she was too surprised she couldn't.

Amber didn't think it would make much difference. As long as the three of them (maybe even Ruby) were at the Festival, Cinder was very unlikely to show herself. She had relied heavily on her subordinates for cover in that fight and forced the White Fang to do her work. She would remain in the shadows.

"What about Emerald's Semblance when she's in the audience?" It would be very easy for people to claim she was cheating if they found out. She wasn't the only one that could affect people from the audience, but hers was definitely the most controversial.

"We have an agreement on that," Professor Ozpin smiled.

* * *

Emerald and Mercury had a bet going. She was thinking that there were many siblings that looked very similar, but Mercury thought it was the same person that seemed to work in multiple places. Emerald knew both scenarios were ridiculous, but this shopkeeper popped up _everywhere_.

 _Where did Yang even find out about this place?_

For Emerald, the noodles were good, even if it was maybe a bit too much. For Mercury, they were too salty, though that didn't stop him from finishing them. Both Ruby and Yang looked like they could go for more. How, Emerald wasn't sure.

The match that had been after theirs was CRUZ vs CCNT. As they didn't really know anyone very well and they had already ordered their meals, they didn't rush.

"Hey guys," came a voice behind them.

"Hey Lassie," Ruby replied as she stopped spinning in her seat.

Lassie was, fittingly enough, some kind of domestic dog Faunus but telling which kind from a tail was difficult. Still, if her parents had named Emerald that, she would have had it changed as soon as possible, along with a stern talk with whichever official allowed it.

The rest of team Lightning was with her.

"Food any good?"

"Yep. Care to join us?"

Normally, Emerald wasn't too bothered when Ruby or Yang asked strangers that as they didn't tend to stay too long or were easy to ignore. LGHG were a team she didn't like on principle.

 _Although, any team that has boys that are dating HION is a 'no'._

At least Galon and Hadrian had stayed away from them for the most part. While Emerald hadn't really spoken to him beforehand, she knew that others shortened 'Hadrian' to 'Harry'. She would not be one of them and she didn't think anyone who met Harry Potter would. He was one of a kind.

She wondered how Harry was getting on now. Shame she had no way of finding out.

"Sure," Ghita answered. To be fair, Ghita was alright. She wasn't one of those types that needed to spend fifty hours of make-up and hair preparation for their tournament match.

Emerald really needed to let that idiocy go.

LGHG made themselves comfortable on the adjoining side. It was mostly small talk about some soap opera Yang liked watching that Lassie and Ghita also watched. Hadrian and Galon were waging war on the noodles and the noodles were winning.

Mercury wrapped his arm around her waist. [Not having fun?]

[I was until they showed up.]

[Just bare it for a little while. We'll be leaving soon enough. Want any popcorn for the next match?]

[Don't think I could manage it.]

[Tell me about it.]

The noodles defeated Hadrian. Galon was victorious. He rolled his eyes at the girls chatting about some show Emerald had miraculously managed to avoid watching and turned to them.

"That was quite a fight. I wouldn't be surprised if you were in the finals."

"Thanks," Mercury replied.

"Are you really first years?"

From a certain point of view: no. "Sure," Emerald answered. "We trained really hard for this and we really didn't want to get knocked out in the first round." That was a lie then a truth.

"Didn't need to worry about that," Hadrian responded. "Doesn't mean we're not going to flatten you, but at least there's some decent competition. If you're the first years, I can't wait to crush a fourth year."

 _Note to self: laugh very hard when they lose._

"You're rather confident," Mercury noted idly.

Emerald managed not to snigger. Goodwitch had used Mercury for a four vs one match to teach the consequences of underestimating your opponent. Velvet had taken great joy in telling the rest of the team about that fight and apparently, Goodwitch had used him in an exhibition 'match' for the same reason with a fourth year team.

 _Must have been worried about them killing themselves with overconfidence._

"I have every reason to be."

 _These are second years, so they weren't in the last tournament._

Galon rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the other girls, although they had no hope for joining that conversation. When Hadrian opened his mouth, Galon elbowed him without looking at him, so he missed the resulting glare.

They had moved onto a different show now and Ruby looked just as confused as Emerald felt.

Emerald felt a scroll vibrate. Thinking it odd, she realised it wasn't hers as hers was in the other pocket. That meant it must be Mercury's. He sensed it too and slipped it out of his pocket. She ignored it.

Until she felt him sigh.

[What's wrong?]

[I'm wanted in Ozpin's office.]

Emerald inaudibly groaned. That was not going to go well.

 _On the other hand, it would be entertaining._

[I'm coming.]

"Would teams JWMP and RNBW please report to the battlefield? It is still intact from the previous match so the next will start as soon as the contestants show up."

[No you're not. Qrow sent it, so he's going to be there.]

Ruby squealed. "Gotta go!"

"Definitely _not_ missing this!" Yang agreed.

[I'll show you later.]

[You'd better.]

Qrow had already told them 'talking to Ironwood is like talking to a brick wall, except you get more out of a wall'. The argument was usually about them and she really couldn't be bothered with it today. It used to worry her, but now it just annoyed her. Mercury had more patience for this and, quite frankly, she just wanted to be a first year student.

Besides, nothing was going to happen to Silvertongue with Felix there.

[Let me know how well Vomit Boy's doing.]

Emerald, chuckling, followed Ruby and Yang as Mercury headed off in the opposite direction.

 _The only thing ruining this tournament is Ironwood._

* * *

Where Qrow got popcorn, Glynda did not even want to know. James was glaring at him, but didn't seem to grasp exactly what he was doing when he ordered Mercury to show up to 'answer some questions'.

While he didn't have to come, Mercury would and Glynda honestly had no idea what mood he was in and, therefore, had no idea how he would behave. He wasn't one to complain, but his friends were fighting now and he would make his displeasure known somehow. Even with the match being displayed (on mute) on Ozpin's desk, he still wouldn't be happy.

Qrow's actions told her she was about to get a headache.

Amber seemed to realise this as well. She seemed torn between annoyance and interest.

When Mercury showed up, there was no annoyance on his features.

That worried Glynda more.

He was also alone, so no Ruby or Yang to temper him.

 _I need to start carrying aspirin._

"Mr Black. Apologies for taking time from your busy day." James did not sound sorry in the slightest.

"Hey, no worries," Mercury replied with a shrug and a carefree attitude. "Mind keeping this short though? Unlike you, I have got things to do."

Qrow was grinning. James could see that, but Mercury couldn't.

"Count yourself lucky Black. If it were up to me, I would have you shot."

"Relax. If I worked for you, I would steal your bullet and shoot myself."

 _This is going swimmingly._

Then Mercury seemed to notice Qrow had popcorn. He immediately headed over and grabbed a handful.

"Mercury," Oz interrupted whatever James was about to say. That was probably just as well if anything was going to be settled today. "Where is Talaria right now?"

"Dorm room." He threw an unpopped piece back into the container. Qrow gave him an affection pat on the shoulder and tipped the container so he could reach it easier. "Tai's in the stands so he can't watch her."

"So no one is watching a highly venomous and highly intelligent animal?"

"Zwei is. Feel free to ask Dr Oobleck for his credentials."

Glynda was very doubtful James knew that Zwei was a dog. If he did, then he would certainly question that more. He still wasn't very happy, but he dropped the topic a bit too quickly. She really hoped he did not try to put a tracker on the dragon. Getting bitten would be the least of his worries.

"Very well."

"There is no sign of Zephyr either," Amber noted. "Am I right in thinking he's not coming back at all?"

"Probably." Mercury went for another handful. Qrow kept tilting the container away from his hand. "He doesn't really have anything to fight for." Qrow did not take into account Mercury had two hands, so he easily snagged another handful.

For some reason, Glynda wondered if that popcorn was a bribe for Mercury as well as for Qrow's amusement.

"His teammates," James responded.

Mercury shrugged. "He's done his part for that."

"That does not qualify."

"You live in a very different world to the rest of us, General."

"I live in reality Black. You don't."

Mercury turned away from the popcorn (and Qrow) then. "That so? Matter of interest, in your world, what is this army supposed to prove? Because there's about fifty conspiracy theories on it online and that was from a casual glance."

"Protection. What else?"

""From what?""

If it was just Mercury asking that, James would answer more angrily. However Ozpin, Glynda, Amber and Qrow had spoken the same words at the same time with him. That wasn't so easy to dismiss.

"Being cautious and discreet wasn't working. With my men here, the public feel safe."

Mercury folded his arms. Qrow put a hand on his shoulder, but it was the younger that spoke.

"Do you know that at least half the public are wondering if this is the first move in an attempt to invade Vale? Maybe instead of wondering if my actions put everyone at risk, you should look a little more at yours. At the rate you're going, Cinder won't _need_ to do anything more to invite the Grimm. You will do it for her."

They had known that bringing an army would raise eyebrows and bring slight fear. That the public would see it as an invasion was something they hadn't considered. Tensions were already high with White Fang activity and that didn't count the other crimes that were not connected to Salem or Cinder.

One spark could catch fire very easily.

"How dare-?!"

"Watch that match between JWMP and RNBW _General_. That is reality. If you can't see the comparisons, then ask the 'cautious and discreet' protectors to point it out. If you'll listen. Keep this in mind: I don't take orders from _you_."

Qrow's hand still on Mercury's shoulder as the pair left.

That could have gone much better.

There was no literal blood on the floor, so it could have been worse.

Maybe _this_ time, James would get the message. After all, they were not doing nothing. It was just impossible to physically engage an enemy you couldn't see. Doing too much was endangering the very people they were trying to protect.

* * *

Ruby walked around the fairgrounds.

She had skipped the next match and had gone looking for JWMP. The only one she had seen so far was Melody and she was with Nyall, so Ruby had left them be. She hadn't seen Weiss, Pyrrha or Jaune and she had been looking for twenty minutes.

Their match had been going back and forth at first. No one had managed to gain real ground. The issue was a communication breakdown within JWMP. When Jaune tried to have an impromptu meeting to fix that, RNBW hadn't been gentlemen. They had attacked while they were talking. They had taken Pyrrha out first, but Weiss had avoided that and she was the other initial target. Demoralised, Jaune had gone out (as much as Ruby hated to say it) easily. While Weiss and Melody put up a fight, they ended up losing.

 _They took Nash down though. He really wasn't happy about it when I saw him._

She had missed BRN's match with BRNZ as well, but Em had told her they had won and so she would get the details later.

Ruby had gone to their dorm first. She had gone around the fairgrounds twice (to be fair, the first time she had been using her Semblance).

 _Emerald did say it was a bad idea to think the opposing team would just stand there and let them plan a strategy. Still, they deserved to go through. I had been looking forward to fighting them._

What eventually stopped her wasn't seeing any of JWP. It was the direction Mercury was in. The only thing that was that way was a dance stage competition and he would _never_ do that, no matter how good he was at it. Never. She was still a little sad at that.

Still, Merc never came back to the colosseum, so maybe he had seen them.

Her jaw dropped when she arrived.

What.

 _Mercury_ was _on_ the stage.

 _Dancing_.

The first thing she noticed was how good he was.

The second was that it was Weiss he was competing with.

The third was Jaune and Pyrrha in the audience.

 _Why is Mercury on the stage?_

It was only when the song ended and the score announced that Ruby realised it was a draw. It didn't look like a machine could decide whether break dancing or ballet was better. Both got a perfect score.

The manic chanting became excited cheering.

Both Mercury and Weiss gave a bow before getting down from the stage.

The crowd was still cheering even as the five of them left.

"What were you doing up there?" Ruby giggled from Mercury's side.

He grumbled.

"That's what you get for pushing me on a rollercoaster," Jaune scolded cheerfully.

"It wasn't that bad. It was for ten year olds!"

"It was still a rollercoaster!"

Ruby burst out laughing. She was really having trouble breathing. It took a while for her to realise Mercury was rubbing her back.

"It was much less hassle getting him on the teacups," Mercury muttered.

Pyrrha smiled. "I don't know what you're talking about. That was very easy."

That set Ruby off all over again.

"You are so childish Ruby," Weiss said with a fond smile.

Ruby barely heard that. She was red in the face. "T-Teacups? D-Did you t-try the carousel?"

Mercury patted her back gently. "He was on the horse."

Now she was rolling on the floor, the image of Knight Jaune on a plastic pony dancing through her mind. Who needed to breathe anyway?

* * *

 **AN: If there was one thing I was disappointed about is that we didn't get to see much of the Vytal Festival Tournament. I can understand why, but I wouldn't have minded seeing a few more matches.**

 **To answer a certain question: so far, I don't think Veil of War needs to be read completely, with the only problems being some references not understood.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	3. Good Relations and Good Times

**In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Weiss had met with Winter shortly after leaving her friends at the fairgrounds.

Winter had not been as disappointed as Weiss expected. She pointed out that Weiss only missed one strike and missing turned out to be more beneficial than if she actually hit. She and Melody had managed to take out one opponent when it was four on two.

When that didn't do much, Winter then showed her the current statistics. There were only two first year teams that had made it through to the doubles round: Burgundy and Remedy. That made her feel much better; those two teams had had two extra years of training she had not, though most didn't know that.

It was remarkably rare for first years to win against any team other than first year. Qualifying alone was an achievement; only her group of friends had from Beacon and only one from Vacuo had from the other schools. With eight teams from each school, qualifying was something to be proud of. Places normally went to fourth and third years. With the exception of CFVY, the other teams from Beacon were three fourth years and one third year.

Not wanting to talk about the tournament anymore, Weiss asked something that had been on her mind since that morning.

"Why are most of the ships leaving? Does that mean you're leaving too?"

Weiss knew there was something going on in the shadows. The White Fang were too quiet and so was whoever Zephyr had been working for. Blake only knew a name for that and that wasn't really who she was interested in. Weiss wasn't sure about anything anymore.

"I won't be leaving, no. White Fang activity has been high in recent months, so it was thought necessary."

"But not anymore?"

"The benefits of leaving were greater than the benefits of staying, so the numbers were reduced. Those that remain are only precautionary."

"But you're staying?"

"I am staying."

Weiss smiled. She followed Winter, who took her to Emerald Forest. Weiss had only been here once, during Initiation. That was the case for all the first years, save when Cardin shoved Jaune in a locker and he landed here, along with Mercury who had been sent to find him.

 _We should have put Cardin in his place then and not two weeks later._

"I am pleased to see you are not neglecting your fencing, but how are your Semblance abilities?"

Weiss preened. "Platform is going well. I've started Time Dilation and even Force."

"Very good. What of your Summoning?"

Her shoulders slumped a little. "That's not going well. I'm practicing and I can get the glyph, but nothing comes."

"What do you want to come? What are you visualizing?"

"A Beowulf."

Winter took a moment to consider. "Why a Beowulf?"

"It is the Grimm I am most familiar with."

"Perhaps." Winter studied Weiss calmly. "However, that may be your problem. It does not matter what you are most physically aware of. It is what you are most emotionally aware of. Do you have any connection to the Beowulf?"

That was easy to answer. "No."

"Our Semblance may be hereditary Weiss, but it is still unique to you. Our ancestors were all different; where one excelled, another struggled. Practice and experience overcomes this."

Weiss listened as she thought. What would be suitable to try Summoning?

"Let's start with what you are comfortable with." She gestured to a clearing. "In your own time."

Weiss took a deep breath to relax, easily finding the centre of the mostly circular clearing. She chose time dilation first, allowing her speed to increase. She positioned the platforms carefully and at different angles. Rather than plan what she was 'drawing', she allowed emotion and instinct to guide her. When she landed, she found she had an apple in her hand that she had pulled from a tree using another aspect of her Semblance.

"Very impressive." Winter walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Was the Boarbatusk intentional?"

Boarbatusk? Weiss had only fought them once, during her first Grimm Studies class.

"It was not a conscious choice."

"A wise choice then. Don't concern yourself with physical appearance. Will your enemy to come to your aid."

Even knowing what was the best thing to try to Summon, Weiss couldn't do it. The glyphs were clearer and sharper, but still nothing came. After a few more moments and still nothing, Weiss growled and ended the attempt.

"You still doubt yourself." Winter sounded _so sure._

"I'm not!" Weiss was in denial and she knew it.

"Then you need to try harder. Is your problem that you are in denial or that you cannot accept the truth?"

Weiss tried again and again.

It didn't work.

Winter silently returned her to her dorm when she was too exhausted to continue.

* * *

Clang. Clang. Swish, clunk.

"When exactly are you going to tell me what the point of this is?" Mercury had nothing against training or learning new skills.

He just couldn't understand why Qrow was so insistent.

"And I told you you're going to have to wait." Qrow found his annoyance amusing.

Yang, Ruby and Emerald had gone to a concert in Vale tonight along with most of their friends. The resulting headache would be incredible for Mercury, so he opted not to go. He had initially been planning to spend the time judging a friendly match between Pyrrha and Jaune with a possible view on Jaune's unknown Semblance, before returning to his dorm to meditate.

 _He has gotten better, I will say that. It would be very impressive if he hadn't. Nothing on the Semblance though._

Qrow had watched the matches as well, provided some constructive criticism and had taken Mercury for his own sword training. Jaune had lent Mercury his heirloom and had been watching the match with great enjoyment.

 _Probably because I've lost every round._

Mercury knew the basics of sword fighting in case he had to improvise if he picked a blade up. In other words, he could beat Jaune in a fair fight, but not Weiss. Against an experienced sword master, he needed to be more creative and that was not what these sessions were about.

For some reason Qrow refused to tell him, he wanted Mercury to learn how to use a sword as smoothly as his favourite fighting style. He had gotten a lot better since they started, but there was a lot of room for improvement.

 _At least he's not going into kill or be killed mode…_

Mercury stood up again, ignoring Jaune's chuckling. To be fair, he did have every right to enjoy the best fighter in their class being taken down a few pegs.

"Until when?" Mercury held the blade up, ready for another round.

"Until I'm happy about it." Qrow didn't hold back his speed, even if he did hold back his power.

Mercury didn't try to focus on one style. He learned many and adapted them. His normal style was a mix of capoeira, taekwondo and muay thai (which he only knew the names of because Marcus knew them). He didn't know the names of forms in sword fighting, but he knew what was comfortable and was quickly learning which complimented each other.

Mercury was a fast learner and he never made the same mistake twice. As such, he could no longer be called an amateur and it was easy to see he was good.

Just nowhere near as good as Qrow.

Jaune winced when Mercury narrowly avoided getting smashed through a brick wall. "Are your training sessions usually like this?"

"No," Mercury replied flippantly as he dodged under the next strike. "They're usually painful." One on one, Mercury vs Qrow; those usually ended in exhaustion, but no injuries. Spars with the girls and Tai didn't go that far.

Zwei barked happily, wagging his tail when Mercury finally got the upper hand.

For about three seconds before that spar ended in a loss too.

Another ten minutes and Qrow called for a break. Jaune gave Zwei a final pet (those two had become fast friends) and took Crocea Mors back. His next match against Pyrrha was much better. He had at least been learning, so Mercury wasn't too annoyed about his laughing. It was deserved.

"Move your feet more Jaune," Qrow commented as he sat next to Mercury.

Talaria crooned and hopped onto Mercury's lap, giving him a good sniff. Satisfied there was no blood and he wasn't sweating so badly to suggest stress, she settled calmly. Zwei bumped his head against Mercury's leg, who absentmindedly gave him a pat.

Jaune was getting pretty good. With no known Semblance to use, all his aura was used for defence. The main problem he was having was that he was sacrificing speed for strength. While one being higher than the other wasn't unusual, there was no point being powerful if none of your attacks connected.

Mercury hadn't made obvious mistakes, but Qrow had jumped on them with enthusiasm. Jaune had obviously been paying attention and was avoiding those.

If Mercury didn't know Pyrrha was going easy on him (even without her Semblance), it would look quite equal. While Pyrrha was certainly faster, Jaune was definitely stronger and so pushed her back farther.

Give it a few years (and more years of practice), Jaune might actually become a decent Huntsman. Eventually.

 _If he ever learns to block low hits. And that one he should have seen coming a mile away._

[Your friend seems to learning from your mistakes better than he is learning from his own.] Qrow found that fact very funny.

So did Mercury. [So I noticed.]

[He also doesn't seem to be qualified for Beacon if this is what you think of as improvement.]

[I'm 99% convinced he lied to get in.] The other 1% was due to the fact he was almost on par with most of his class now. [Where would you say he was if he attended Signal?]

Qrow seemed to think about that. Zwei had given up trying to get Mercury's full attention and trotted over to bother Qrow. [I would give him another year before he was ready for Beacon. At least. He must have nearly gotten killed during Initiation.]

Mercury shrugged. He only saw them against the Death Stalker and he had been a little preoccupied with a Beringal at the time. No doubt Jaune had been dead weight, but he had been Pyrrha's dead weight and not Mercury's problem.

[So you never thought he worked for Cinder?]

[No. Just a very stupid boy that was very out of depth. At least he realised that before he got killed.] Why Jaune thought attending Beacon without his aura unlocked was a good idea, Mercury would never know.

 _Still, if he's starting to catch up with the others now, he might yet be a worthy opponent._

[What time are the girls back from wherever they've gone?]

[Concert and no idea. How long do concerts usually last?]

[Until the early hours of the morning, depending on when it starts.]

Mercury was now very glad he hadn't gone. [Have a good experience with concerts? By the sound of it, you didn't enjoy them too much.]

[I had no problem with concerts. I just had a problem with Tai's taste in music.]

[Yours isn't any better.] Emerald and Mercury had gotten very bored when all four of the others had to be in Signal, so among many things they fiddled with, they played around with the stereo. They couldn't agree on who was the worst.

[My taste in music is brilliant.]

Mercury scoffed. [Keep telling yourself that, old man.]

Jaune was on the ground. Again. Pyrrha chuckled and offered him a hand up. "I think that's enough for tonight."

"Yeah." Jaune gave a wave to Mercury. "See you tomorrow."

"See you."

Watching the two walk away made him think. They went to the dance together, but Pyrrha left early. It seemed as if nothing had happened when they got back from Mountain Glenn. Jaune had always dodged the question whenever someone asked him what happened at the dance. Mercury suspected Pyrrha had been too.

It then occurred to Mercury that there had been fewer spars with Pyrrha on that rooftop. Weiss had been training him recently. Even Melody was up there more than Pyrrha now, who used a completely different style and was out most nights with her boyfriend. He also seemed relieved to see Qrow with Mercury when he asked for a second opinion.

"Did they used to date?" Qrow asked when they were out of sight.

"I don't think so. She's fancied him since they met before Initiation, he was a blind idiot until we pointed out the obvious just before the dance and then I have no idea. No one does."

"Probably ended badly then."

Mercury tried to think back. Pyrrha had left the dance just before Ruby spotted Cinder while Jaune had stayed in and no one seemed to think anyone was off. Then again, the pair-

Mercury just stopped thinking about it. Easier that way.

"Seriously, why sword fighting?"

"And I told you: later."

"There _is_ a point to this then? Other than the obvious." Quite a few months (arguably years) of being the top dog can make people more lax. He wasn't dealing with idiots or weaklings anymore and one misstep can cost a life, most likely his.

"There is a point. Maybe after the Vytal Festival."

"'Maybe'? So never."

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Maybe means maybe."

"Uh huh."

"No faith in me Silvertongue?"

"Just a little suspicious."

"Only a little? I must be doing something wrong."

Mercury rolled his eye with a smile. A survival skill was a survival skill. He couldn't image why sword fighting would help him, but Felix seemed to think so and Mercury trusted him.

For now, they had better go and find Zwei as he seemed determined to play hide and seek. Last time they left him when he did that, he managed to stumble upon a bunch of robbers holding up a bank and then almost caused a pile up on the highway. The kid with a broken leg on the road ahead may or may not be the reason for that.

* * *

Day 2.

32 teams meant 16 matches for the whole team round. To make this easier, it had been split over several days. Many of the people Ruby knew happened to be on the first day.

However, first ones up on the second day were SSSN. They were up against SQLL.

Ruby didn't directly know anyone in Squall. She did know they were a third year team from Vacuo and they preferred far reaching weapons. She also knew their leader, Sandra, liked to party as much as Yang.

Sun, Scarlet, Sage and Neptune vs Sandra, Quill, Lance and Lily.

 _Scarlet has recently been spending a lot of time with Yang. Best not mention that to Dad just yet. Or Uncle Qrow._

The battlefield was buildings on one side and volcano like on the other. That water was literally steaming.

"Okay guys, let's set something straight," Lance opened with a grin. "What are you guys like with cheap shots?"

"Nothing below the belt," Scarlet replied casually. "Otherwise, anything's fair game."

"Terms accepted," Sandra nodded and brought the gun of some kind up.

The first part of the match was around the buildings. Quill leapt up onto the top of a building with a push from Lance that also scattered SSSN. Sage and Scarlet stuck together while Sun and Neptune found themselves being outmanoeuvred by Lily.

The major problem came when Sandra's highly explosive rounds took out the second building. The crumbling debris put the fight on hold as they got out of the way. Neptune was having a few problems.

Next to Yang, Blake had her head in her hands. Yang was shaking her head.

"Huh?" Ruby asked.

"Neptune really doesn't like water," Yang replied with a chuckle. "So trying to get him onto that half of the battlefield is going to be tricky."

With all the noise from the crowd, Ruby couldn't hear what Sun and Neptune were arguing about. Sage eventually had enough and literally threw Neptune towards Quill, who was still in sniping position with his rapid fire weapon. With strong determination, Quill was quickly knocked off the roof.

Neptune then refused to come down from the top of the building.

"But that's ankle deep at best," Emerald commented from Yang's other side.

"Doesn't matter," Blake muttered in response.

Scarlet remained in the middle where there was no natural battlefield. Lance joined him in the middle. The others stayed in the 'volcano' area.

Until it erupted.

"Ooh…That burn's going to need some serious attention!"

Lily and Sun had managed to get out of the way of the boiling stream. Sage and Sandra had not been so lucky. Their aura dropped into the red.

Sandra had a parting gift though. Before her buzzer sounded, her weapon discharged and blasted through at least two walls of the building Neptune was on top of. It immediately tilted and came down.

Ruby winced a little, but saw Neptune now next to Scarlet, perfectly fine.

Scarlet himself wasn't doing too well. His aura was only at 32. Sun wasn't much better; his was at 40.

All of the combatants found themselves in the building area again quickly. Both teams tried to get someone in sniping position, but they weren't allowed. So different plans were used. Each had varying success. Lance in particular employed a hit and run tactic, which really annoyed Neptune.

Ruby knew the feeling.

What decided the match was who was paying the most attention to their surroundings. All the wild rounds ended up in the final building. It wasn't long until that destabilised too.

Unfortunately for Scarlet and Lily, they were inside the building when it fell. Their aura ended up in the red. Sun saw it coming and immediately headed into the centre. Neptune and Lance both saw it, but it was too late for Lance to alter his path and he ended up underneath debris. Neptune managed to roll out the way with 16 aura left, accidentally knocking Quill into a heavy piece that landed on his head.

"And the failure in construction has bulldozed most of the competitors! Team Sun wins! Could someone go dig the others out of the rubble?"

Ruby glanced at the screen and let out a sigh of relief. No one had their aura shattered, so they were okay. Or as okay as they could be when buried alive.

That wasn't a feeling Ruby ever wanted to experience.

Yang, Blake and Weiss left their seats and headed towards the exit, no doubt to go celebrate their victory. Ruby stayed behind with her Emery. Jaune, Pyrrha, Melody and Nyall took the now empty seats.

"Smiles all around then," Jaune laughed.

Ruby nodded gleefully. "Awesome match and an awesome result." SSSN may have won, but SQLL had put up an incredible fight. They should be proud of themselves.

Most matches didn't last anywhere near as long as Ruby would like. They lasted longer than real fights would, but still not long enough.

The following match was over in three minutes.

NDGO vs PLCN.

It wasn't that Team Pelican were bad. It was that Gayle kept using that tornadoes to throw them out of the arena. The rocky terrain made that easier. She managed to get two in the first tornado and their panic in avoiding her left them easier prey for the rest of her team.

As Dr Oobleck said: "They were blown away."

There were a few boos mixed in with the cheers there. Ruby thought that was a little harsh. This was a competition and PLCN had a year over NDGO. There was nothing wrong with winning by ring out. It just meant their next opponents needed a way to counter it if they put Gayle in the doubles round.

"That's one way to win," Mercury commented idly. He was almost laughing.

Jaune winced. "All of a sudden, I don't feel so bad about losing."

Ruby nodded sadly. That wasn't a way she would want to lose. It wasn't a way she really wanted to win either. They didn't get much of a chance to fight back.

With that depressing thought, Ruby pushed herself up. The next match was after lunch, so there wasn't much point in hanging around. Maybe the fairgrounds would cheer her up.

If it didn't, she had Penny's match to look forward to.

* * *

Emerald returned to their dorm room. There may be plenty to do in the fairgrounds, but things were getting a bit too crowded for her. Mercury noticed this and roped Jaune and Nyall into distracting their current company to allow her to slip away. The problem with so many friendly teams was that it wasn't always easy to find time to herself.

The dorm was somewhere she knew she wouldn't be disturbed. Without a very good reason at least.

Talaria chittered a hello as Zwei barked, wagging his tail.

Her hand slipped into her pocket to pull out the red key needed to unlock the aura suppressing wristband. It was a security measure she understood and could agree with, but it was still irritating.

 _They let me have a key. I wonder if that argument ever happened._

The wristband dropped on the cabinet between the beds, she collapsed on the double. Zwei joined her soon enough, though Talaria flew onto the desk near the door, her stance attentive.

 _A guard dragon._

Emerald yawned. She had not gotten a good night's sleep last night. Well, she had but it was far too short. They had gotten back to the dorm at five in the morning and had gotten up at eight. Three hours of sleep normally wasn't too bad, if it wasn't for the fact she had only a few hours more sleep the night before.

 _That time, we were waiting up for Mercury and he was back before two. To be fair, he waited up for us last night. How he and Nyall got along the second they met is something I'll never know._

Then again, she thought the same thing about Mercury and Jaune at the beginning of the year. After a rocky start, they had been pretty good.

Stretching happily, Emerald relaxed all her muscles. She may be tired, but not yet enough to sleep. That didn't mean she couldn't just rest and let the world pass her by.

 _Let's see. Qrow swore revenge after some trick involving white paint was used on him by Tai. Ruby owes Yang from when she made fruit salad and deliberately fed the strawberries to Talaria. Mercury owes her as well for pushing him into the hamster ball on water._

At the moment, Emerald and Yang were even.

 _Blake had a bet going with Melody about those rubber duck games. Jaune and Ren had a bet going about that. Weiss owes Blake a cup of tea or coffee and Jaune is paying for his team's meals for some reason or other. Pyrrha agreed to go shopping with Melody tomorrow and…somehow Nora managed to organise a singing competition for everyone starting tonight. Why did Coco and Violet have to help with that?_

Zwei was already sleeping next to her. With a smile, Emerald drifted off as well.

* * *

 _How do I keep getting roped into these things?_

Okay, Mercury should have seen the changed script coming. He did know a lot better. He didn't have to worry about that this time. He was a lot of things, but a singer he was _not._ Still, he didn't mind helping out if it meant he wasn't paying for the meal out for the rest of the week.

When you had a Semblance like Pyrrha's, it didn't take very long to set up the stage, as long as she was careful. She had since returned to the colosseum. Most of the audio stuff hadn't been fully disassembled from their play, so it didn't take long to put that back into place. Coco had been quite specific with what she wanted, so that was easy enough.

He had flat out refused to be a judge when offered. He was also glad he didn't have Weiss' job; organising this many kids (from all the schools) in less than eight hours was going to be a major hassle.

 _Well, the tournament matches for the day finish in four hours, so most of them are going to be there until then. The stage itself will be done and it's not like we're choreographing this thing. All we need is a good connection to get the song they want._

Why they couldn't have planned these things weeks in advance, Mercury would never know. In this case, the idea was only a few hours old and it was too popular an idea for it to be dismissed so fast.

Sometimes, Mercury cursed how competent they were. He also cursed the fact Nora knew exactly which students to go to in order to get her ideas approved.

 _At least this time I'm staying backstage._

"Mercury."

Mercury glanced up from where he was fiddling with some wires. He was the only other one helping to set this up. "Good news or bad news Weiss?"

"As long as there aren't too many students changing their minds, then it is good news. There is only one problem left. What do you think needs doing?"

"Well, the stage is almost done. The lights are in place, though we haven't tested that yet. Half the songs are done with the rest to follow in the next two hours." He hadn't even heard of half of them. "Audience size?"

"The same as the play, so easier to organise them. That's done as much as it can be before the night."

"Order of the competitors?"

"Done. Alternated so there won't be someone from Beacon immediately following someone from Beacon."

"Host?"

"Yang and possibly Ruby. What do you think?"

He thought about it. "I honestly think, in this case, Ruby would be happier in the audience than on the stage." The play was something she had more of a hand in and she was proud of it (for good reason). She wouldn't enjoy this so much. Nothing else sprung to mind. "So what's the problem?"

"The judges."

Mercury groaned. He had honestly thought that had been sorted. "Is that a 'we need volunteers' or 'they have agreed but nothing further'?"

"Both." She seemed just as tired as he was.

"Okay. So who have we got?"

"Coco for Beacon. Ghita for Haven. Either Harley or Kai from Shade. They're working that out between them. Atlas has no one so far."

Mercury ran through the teams he had seen in his head. One stuck out to him. "What about someone from FNKI?"

 _Seriously, did Ironwood call them that or did they pick it themselves? Probably the latter._

"FNKI?" Weiss considered. "A good idea. Do you still have that list?"

Mercury reached into his pocket for his scroll. He had a list for everyone from each school. The few that knew about it thought it was for the tournament. They weren't wrong, but it wasn't for the competition. He unlocked it and handed it to her.

"No…No…Definitely not…" Weiss flicked the screen. "Maybe…What do you know about Team Concrete?"

"That they're about as fun as their name. Remember Camellia's response to that film night?"

Weiss thought back. "I don't remember her attending one."

"The musical night." And boy had that had been unpleasant.

Weiss winced. She remembered now. "I see your point." She read over the rest. "From the ones I have seen anything of, FNKI would be the ones to ask. If they don't want to, they may know someone who does."

"I saw Neon in the audience this morning. She might still be there."

Weiss returned his scroll, which he slipped into his pocket, and she sent a message on hers. Blake was in the fairgrounds and had been willing to act as their informant there. If unregistered people wanted to register, they spoke to her. If FNKI were there, she would be able to find them easily.

 _Neon sticks out like a sore thumb._

"Aside from the four judges, anything else?"

"I was thinking five judges. How else are we going to decide if it's a tie?"

That was a fair point. But that brought a problem. "Good luck finding someone that is not connected to a school in some way."

"That is the issue."

Mercury tapped his pocket. Then he glanced at the monitors backstage. "Let me see someone. There might be a…very slightly fairer way of doing it." Sort of. "I'll get back to you by an hour, news or not."

"Thank you." Weiss' scroll went off as someone called her. With an apology, she left.

Mercury rubbed his temples. He really didn't want to do this. However, there were some benefits and he had invested too much time in setting this up. After placing the wires where he needed them, he took a glance around to ensure there were no hazards and left.

 _Speaking of bad music, Ozpin needs some for his lift._

Exactly why Ironwood insisted on spending so much time in the Headmaster's Office, Mercury didn't really want to know. It did make finding him easier.

"Mercury?" Ozpin asked. Only he and Ironwood were in.

"Long story short, someone had an idea and now we have another competition starting tonight. Ozpin, your students need to stop having ideas." Ozpin gave him an amused smile. Even Ironwood looked interested. "Singing competition. Judges from all the schools, but are we allowed to do a public vote?"

Ironwood considered. "Is it going on the website?"

"Yeah."

Beacon had its own website that was mostly used by students which included posting video blogs, new clubs and, Mercury's personal favourite, "Top tips for surviving Beacon'. Vale had one of its own and now had a page for the Vytal Festival. The Tournament alone ensured it was checked often and there was short notice for quite a few things.

"Then it's doable."

"Great." Another thing to do. Still, it was a good way to fill seats.

"Where is the money going?"

Mercury fought back a laugh. "I told Weiss it was going into a savings account for when one of Ruby's and Yang's ill thought out pranks end up blowing up Beacon. She agreed with that quite easily. Either way, it's for when Beacon explodes." Whether the sisters or Cinder were responsible was up in the air. "If all goes well, no idea."

Ironwood looked at Mercury. "You need not worry as that is not going to happen." Then he looked at Ozpin. "However, it is a fair idea and we can agree on what else we can do with the money. Do we need another possibility?"

Ozpin shook his head; that amused smile still there. "I believe that my students have a betting pool over when Beacon gets destroyed and whether it will be JWMP, BRN or RMEY responsible. The most popular vote appears to be second year and RMEY is the favourite."

Mercury did chuckle there. "Thanks."

Ironwood was obviously confused, but maybe he was reassured by the fact that they took it as a joke. "What times are you looking at?"

"Seven tonight and, though it shouldn't, if it drags on until the finals, it'll switch to the day. Then again, there were more people interested than we expected."

"You will find that will often be the case," Ozpin commented. "If they wish, I can think of a few people in Vale that they would be interested in talking to if they enjoy it."

"The same in Atlas," Ironwood agreed.

"Then mention it to Weiss before five," Mercury commented as he turned to leave. "She's the one working on that part."

"Mr Black."

Swallowing back a retort as the voice wasn't aggressive, he turned and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Yes?"

"What do you get out of this?" Ironwood didn't seem angry, but there was some disbelief in that question.

"Honestly? The tournament's getting on my nerves. Most of the matches aren't realistic. Most of the audience came for a show, not a spar and it's annoying. Helping out with these things gives me a good reason to stay out of the colosseum."

Mercury didn't wait to see how Ironwood would take that. In the lift, he sent the message to Weiss and headed back to the stage. There were a few things he needed to go over and Velvet should be there in about half an hour to test the cameras.

This time, he was definitely _not_ getting on that stage.


	4. Battles

**In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

This was irritating.

While not all of the Atlas fleet had left, enough had done so that the remaining could be easily explained by the Dust robberies in the area. No longer were people wondering if there was something more sinister going on. On top of that, the number of friendly competitions other than the traditional tournament was providing a much happier atmosphere, along with less hostilities.

To the general public, the Huntsmen and Huntresses were protectors, but they was also a fear in the back of the mind. 'What if they go rogue?' They were not often viewed as people, but as a league of their own. The public were right, but not in the way they were expecting.

However, this fear was quickly becoming a memory. With the Huntsmen and Huntresses in training being shown as children, it was more difficult for them to fear what they could do to a civilian. When they were out of combat attire, a different image was shown.

This was seen best in the singing competition.

While it did not overshadow the tournament, the children in training for combat could be compared to civilian children of the same age that were training to be shopkeepers or something as innocent. It removed much of the degree of separation between Huntsman and civilians.

What annoyed Cinder the most was that this wasn't done to counter the plan. It had been an idea from someone who had no idea what was going on and competent people had made it happen because people would enjoy it. There was no ulterior motive behind it, but these things were a small problem. Not a huge one, but a problem nonetheless.

Public opinion was a fickle thing.

However, it mattered not.

* * *

Qrow wasn't sure what he was looking for. The good General may have listened to them about the fleet around Vale, but they didn't have any reason for a snap inspection of a prison, especially when they were sure an invasion would happen elsewhere.

As such, he did not have the approval of those in the know in Atlas and he had no excuse otherwise.

All he had heard were whispers. They couldn't even be called rumours. Ironically enough, this wasn't enough for Ironwood to order a snap inspection until the Vytal Festival was over.

However, this was something they could not afford get wrong.

LiaGuard was a prison that the public didn't know about. Officially, it didn't exist. It was essentially an island in the middle of the sea, which was heavily guarded both inside and out. There was some of the most powerful weaponry there to protect from the Grimm that occasionally attacked. It was for people that had been given life sentences. These were people that could easily be argued for the death penalty, but for a variety of reasons unique to each, they were imprisoned instead.

 _I get that we need info, but these guys aren't talking. All these years and only three have ever been cooperative._

However, there were very few that knew exactly what resided in that prison. Qrow did not approve and had argued for it to be destroyed. He had been overridden by both Ozpin and Ironwood.

As Ironwood had provided a lot of the security, it was hard to argue with him. If there was the slightest chance these prisoners had information that could save lives, Ironwood wouldn't hear of it. Ozpin tended to refer to him when it came to LiaGuard, except for the cases that the convicted would end up in this particular prison. That needed approval from all four governments.

To put it simply: it would not end well if Salem got her hands on this fortress.

While Ironwood agreed they needed to check it, he was going to wait until after the Vytal Festival. Ozpin and Qrow had both argued with him, but he stood firm. Most of his fleet leaving Vale had only made him more stubborn.

Here was the main problem: there were a lot of Atlas robots and personnel on site, as well as a lot from Vacuo and Mistral. Conducting checks without manpower or any idea what they were looking for would be a real issue.

He was currently resting on the roof in crow form, watching the latest shipment of resources arrive. He had learned the protocol and had seen nothing awry. However, he now had to decide if it was worth risking heading inside. There were no crows around here and he had very little defence against their weapons. Qrow would be risking his life for what could be a dead end.

The whispers weren't what had him worried.

It was Zephyr Oakley/Solgale. He had told them that they were interested in 'technology that didn't exist'. LiaGuard certainly qualified. On top of that, they had never figured out the reason why Cinder had led Ruby to the Police Headquarters that night. Even if it was a distraction, why pick there?

Everything Qrow could see was what it was supposed to be. He had managed a few seconds as human to take a photo so Ironwood could confirm everyone who could be seen was supposed to be there.

He did, with a lot of patience, but Qrow still wasn't sure.

At the moment, he was not going to risk getting shot and killed. Qrow took to the wing. He didn't approve, but the Vytal Festival was the more imminent (known) risk and that was where his kids were. That was where he would focus for now.

* * *

It was now Thursday. The preliminary rounds were over and they were onto the doubles round.

It wasn't a difficult decision for Blake to make. Ren and Nora had been friends for forever and worked together so well, she sometimes thought they could read minds. They certainly enjoyed fighting together.

Besides, they wanted it the most.

Still, they were at lunchtime and they hadn't been called up yet. Nearly everyone that had were the older years; people Blake didn't really know.

The first match after lunch was CFVY vs LGHG. Coco and Yatsuhashi vs Hadrian and Galon.

Yang chuckled and rubbed her hands together. "Finally."

"Since when do you get along so badly with them?" Blake asked.

"Since Monday," Emerald replied. She had also leaned forward in anticipation. "But it's more that they're a bit _too_ arrogant."

Nora sniggered. "Too arrogant? Is there such a thing? Can't be as bad as all of us, idiots and morons included. And most of those magicals as well."

"She's got a point," Ren replied.

"These guys passed the first round only because Ghita bailed three of them out. Twice." Now that Emerald mentioned it, she did remember it. "In fact…I wonder why she's not up there."

"Maybe she didn't want to be," Blake responded. She couldn't see Ghita in the crowd, but it would be odd if she missed her team's fight.

Galon and Hadrian had a simple strategy: use their heavier weapons to hopefully overpower their opponents. This may have worked against some teams, but Coco and Yatsuhashi were not one of them. They also had heavy weapons, but Coco's gun was something that Hadrian and Galon would need a lot of speed to avoid. They couldn't just power through it.

 _Then again, I can't think of many that would be fast enough to dodge that._

The one time they did get close enough, Yatsuhashi intercepted and smacked them back again, taking off 20 of Galon's aura and 34 of Hadrian's.

Finally, the two retreated behind the rocks.

Coco and Yatsuhashi didn't immediately follow. They had a brief discussion before approaching slowly. Suddenly, Yatsuhashi leapt up high in the air and slammed his sword into the centre of the rocky field.

The result was an earthquake.

"I would say that was 6.2," Dr Oobleck decided.

Yatsuhashi remained low. He didn't stand from his crouch. When Galon and Hadrian steadied themselves, they immediately ran forward to attack.

"Bad idea," Emerald muttered. "That's a trap."

It was.

Yatsuhashi had stayed low to avoid friendly fire. Coco had managed to get into the perfect position without Galon and Hadrian noticing. Once caught in the volley of rounds, they weren't able to get out. Their aura quickly dropped into the red.

"And with that, Coco and Yatsuhashi are the winners!"

The cheering was deafening. Blake clapped happily, catching Velvet out of her seat in the corner of her eye. On her other side, Ruby was bouncing up and down in her seat.

The noise continued as the randomizer appeared on the screen again and started spinning.

"Ruby and Yang from Beacon vs Roland and Warrick from Haven!"

Only to land on RMEY and RNBW.

Yang smashed her fists together. "Well, it's about time."

Ruby bounced off her seat. "Finally!"

Velvet chuckled. "They're certainly excited." She then stood up.

"You're not staying Velvet?" Blake asked.

"I'm sure Mercury is going to be showing up soon and he said he still had stuff to do at the stage that would take him most of the day. I'll go cover for him."

"Thank you," Emerald murmured.

Velvet hesitated. "Emerald, keep an eye on him, alright? Something's off; almost like he's tired but he doesn't act it."

Blake nodded her agreement with that. Recently, Mercury had always been on the move; always another job to do. Something was off. He knew more about Zephyr and who he worked for; that could be part of the reason.

 _Or it could be something else…_

Not a minute after Velvet and Fox left, Mercury turned up. Emerald smiled at him and offered popcorn when he sat down next to her. He chose to give her a one arm hug instead, before settling back.

Blake turned back to the arena. A fire side and an ice side. Ruby and Yang were excited to get going. Roland and Warrick had a calm confidence, but it wasn't quite arrogance.

He may or may not have been trying his hardest, but Basil had lost to Ruby before. They weren't going to be underestimating them.

Roland had a double katana, held together by little more than a band of metal barely big enough for his hand. Warrick had dual pistols. They had remained pistols in the match with JWMP.

"Go get 'em girls!" Jaune and Nyall cheered in perfect sync.

When the buzzer sounded, Ruby and Yang split up. Ruby vanished in a shower of petals, but there was no sign which direction she went in.

 _Going for sniping. Might take them a while to figure out where she is and until they do, they're easy targets._

There weren't many sniping spots, but they were far enough away from each other to be an issue.

Yang went on the offensive (as if she would ever do defence). She placed herself between Roland and Warrick. While this did mean she was attacked on both sides, one dodged strike results in friendly fire.

Yang's aura may be draining, but so was Roland's and Warrick's.

Eventually, the pair both jumped back together. Roland ran forward to engage Yang again. Warrick aimed, but stumbled as something knocked into him. A flash of red heading in the opposite direction revealed what caused him to stumble.

Again.

And again.

Mercury chuckled. "Someone's getting frustrated."

Warrick was. He had completely forgotten about Yang and was trying to hit someone that could move almost faster than he could see.

Ruby and Yang's Semblances were well known. Emerald and Mercury's weren't. So most people thought those two would go forward and prepared for a very different fight. However, just because you knew what your opponent could do did not guarantee you a victory. Especially if they didn't know what you could do.

But Roland and Warrick did not use a Semblance. Maybe theirs weren't designed for combat.

Then Warrick said something and Ruby became visible. She was in shock at first, which was when Warrick tried to hit her. That only set her off again.

Emerald winced. "That was a stupid thing to say."

"What'd he say?" Melody asked hesitantly.

Mercury answered, cringing. "He said that it was just as well her mother was missing as she would be very disappointed in the coward her daughter was. Her Emery would soon do the same."

All of them winced.

"Okay." Jaune glared. "He deserves everything that's coming to him."

Anyone who believed Ruby was a sweet, innocent girl would never believe how brutal she could be when someone hurt (including insults) someone she really cared about. Taunting her by saying stuff like that was the worst thing you could do.

Ruby vanished again. The petals circled Warrick, slowly at first until it was an almost swarm of red. Blake couldn't see inside it. The whirlwind just grew in speed and height.

Only after the buzzer sounded did the hurricane stop and Warrick was lying on the ground, panting. 1 aura left.

Roland had been staring at the whirlwind. Yang had punched him into it. He had drifted around it a few times before he had smacked the wall separating them from the audience. He may have 59 aura left, but it was a ring out.

"And, in an incredible display of speed and beauty, Ruby and Yang are victorious!"

Blake was out of her seat and clapping. A glance around showed most of Beacon were. Emerald and Mercury grinned at them before giving a casual salute and heading towards the exit.

No doubt they were going to reassure Ruby that Warrick was wrong. No doubt their celebrations were well deserved.

* * *

Mercury's Gems were very aware of his absence in the colosseum recently. It was his absence elsewhere that was the problem.

Ruby thought it odd. Okay, they knew full well that he wasn't coming to the concert as it would probably give him a migraine and they had known a few others weren't going, so he would be fine. She wasn't too bothered about his absence from the colosseum as she always saw him outside it and in the fairgrounds. He was at their match. Velvet, Coco and Weiss had easily persuaded Ida and Blake to work backstage during the show from the very beginning so he could be with them.

At dinner after their match though, they could see for themselves that something was wrong.

And then he was reluctant to let them aura read him. He only did that when something was really bothering him.

The next morning, they woke up and he was gone. The pattern continued: he would missing for most of the day, although he would appear for lunch and breaks (and as soon as Emerald called him). He met them in their seats for the singing competition (which had a lot of people that didn't qualify for the tournament), but when they went to bed, he vanished.

Ruby tried staying awake for when he returned last night. She thought she felt his arms wrap around her and a kiss to her hair, but it was so dreamlike. He was gone again by the time they woke up.

It was Saturday. There were no matches to avoid, so what was he really up to?

Emerald: Where are you?

Mercury: Ozpin's office

Ruby frowned. "He seems to be spending a lot of time in there."

Emerald scowled. "Especially when Qrow is with Tai and we just saw Goodwitch and Ozpin. So he must be with Ironwood and I don't trust him."

Ruby knew that she meant she didn't trust him with Mercury. Bringing up the fact that they hadn't seen Miss Amber and so she might be there as well wouldn't help. It would just make Emerald more on edge.

"I don't like how often he's in there," Ruby responded, sadness in her tone. "Why is he?"

Something flickered across Emerald's face. Her anger faded and resignation replaced it. She wrapped an arm around Ruby while she sent a message on the eleven person group chat. Apparently, there was nothing else going on that needed to be approved or anything like that.

Ruby shoulders dropped. "Why not just ask him? There must be something…"

"…Soon." Emerald gently tugged Ruby closer, who curled into her. "When we fly." From Emerald's sudden depressed mood, she might have an idea about what was wrong and really hoped that she was wrong about it.

Was that fear?

Ruby really hoped it wasn't fear.

 _When we fly…He can't block aura reading when we fly…He promised we would go flying tonight._

"When we fly is a little unfair Em."

"I know Ruby. But he's gone this far and not told us. Either he's not trying to hide it or he just hasn't noticed we've noticed. Whatever's bothering him…He's not sleeping well Ruby. An hour or two a night isn't enough."

Seriously, why did he insist on getting up so early? It was a habit he should have left behind by now.

Emerald: How long will you be?

…

Mercury: Probably a while

Emerald sighed, dropping the scroll on the wall they were resting on. Ruby snatched it and sent a message to Uncle Qrow. Mercury shouldn't be in there alone; he didn't trust anyone in there. He wouldn't feel safe.

Ruby wanted to be angry at him. But something really wasn't right here.

Seeing Mercury walking away from Uncle Qrow outside the tower an hour later made that feeling worse.

"Qrow?" Emerald was as hesitant to ask as Ruby was.

"You three haven't had a fight, have you?" Qrow's eyes went to them.

"If we don't get an answer soon, I will."

Ruby opened her mouth, not sure what to say to calm Emerald down. Instead, she swallowed and turned to her uncle. "What happened up there?"

Qrow let out a frustrated growl. "I don't know. He claims Ironwood was drilling him about Zephyr and Cinder. I think it's something more, but he's not being very helpful."

"But why would he lie? Or not tell us the truth?" Ruby didn't understand. Mercury had never lied to them and he normally had a good reason for not mentioning things when they asked.

"…I don't know Ruby. But something's going on." His gaze went upwards. "And if Silvertongue's not going to tell me, I'll ask our good General." With that, he strode inside.

 _He's mad._

Emerald watched him with narrowed eyes. She then turned and headed in Mercury's direction. Ruby thought this was a bad idea, but she also moved forward.

It took a little while to catch up to him. Mercury had gone to the little cove where he had asked them to go to the dance with him. He was resting his arm on one knee with the other leg out. He was looking out to the ocean. Not at them.

"Hey girls."

"Girls?" Emerald asked. "Not Gems?"

"You're angry at me. I don't want to make you angrier."

"We're worried about you Merc," Ruby responded, her voice quieter than she would have liked. "The other day you said you weren't going to listen to the General and now you seem to be meeting with him often."

"And he _really_ doesn't like us," Emerald tagged on. She sat down opposite Mercury and folded her arms. Not sure what to do, Ruby remained where she was.

Mercury remained quiet for a little while. "It's just answering questions Emerald. He's getting very paranoid."

"If it's just questions, then why aren't Qrow or Ozpin there?"

"Because after a three hour straight grilling session, Amber had enough and kicked me out to 'have a word with him', I believe she said. Now he thinks they're trying to interfere with keeping the people safe." A very bitter chuckle followed that. "Stupid fool. He didn't take kindly to me telling him that they weren't afraid of his toy soldiers."

"Miss Amber kicked you out?" Ruby repeated.

"So why do you keep going back?" Emerald demanded. "Ironwood has no say over us!"

"And who do you think is going to take the fall if things go south Emerald?" Mercury was glaring at Emerald now. "Who do you think Ironwood is going to point the finger at? It's not going to be himself. It's not going to be Ozpin or Qrow either; he has nothing on them."

"He has nothing on you unless Amber says so!"

Mercury laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound. "Still so naïve Emerald. I thought you knew better than that. All Ironwood needs to do is show a connection between me and Marcus Black. Easily done. Public opinion and tabloids will do the rest. Who _won't_ believe that the son of a mass murderer was partly responsible for the fall of Beacon?"

Both Ruby and Emerald went as still as statues.

"He _can't_ move against you Emerald. I'm disposable; I always was. People are going to want to trust in Atlas and that's easy enough for Ironwood to do. Even if things _don't_ go south, it doesn't matter. He can leak that whenever he wants and let the public get worked up enough that his army is needed. Might even get an 'I told you so'-"

"Shut up!" Ruby snapped furiously.

Mercury fell silent, his grey eye as hard as diamond.

Ruby took a deep breath. "That won't happen. Even if it did, all Ironwood has is lies or stuff he can't say. Everyone at Beacon, whether they like you or not though most at least respect you, they'll fight for you. Who are the public going to believe? A man who brought an army to Vale for no reason or the teenagers that know they can go to you to set up singing competitions or dancing competitions or plays or something else? A man they only know by reputation or their own kids?"

"It may take two sides to fight a war Ruby," Mercury almost snarled. "But it only takes one man to start it."

Emerald finally spoke up. "You haven't changed your name and no one's made the connection yet. 'Black' is a rather uncommon name, but may be common enough that these people don't see anything _wrong_ with it."

A thought occurred to Ruby. "Before we met you, me and Yang had never heard of Marcus Black."

"Your father had," Mercury responded.

"My point is that he wasn't on the news. Ever. Dad's a Huntsman; he probably heard from that."

Mercury growled. "You're missing the point, Ruby. It doesn't matter if people have heard about him or not. Publish a criminal record and that job's done. Ironwood doesn't think things through properly. Bringing an army to Vale could have brought to the Grimm, but he didn't think about that. Keeping me out of Beacon could result in bringing the Grimm and who is he going to blame for that?"

"It would be his fault."

"Yet I'm the one that's hung out to dry."

"Uncle Qrow would never let that happen."

"Who's to say he would have a choice?"

"Both of you stop."

Ruby looked at Emerald, trying to plead her to get through to him. Mercury just scoffed and his attention went to the sea again.

When Em spoke, her voice was calm and controlled. "If you're that convinced Merc, why do you still meet with him?"

The smirk he had was not one Ruby liked. "Insurance."

"Insurance?" Ruby repeated. "What do you mean?"

"It's your word against his," Emerald interrupted before Mercury could explain. "In your scenario, that doesn't end well."

Mercury still didn't look at them. His hand went into his pocket and he threw Em his scroll. Em put in his code (the day they attacked the Fall Maiden, despite Ruby begging him to change it) and she started to go through things.

Then her fingers stopped moving. "You recorded it."

"Everything. Ironwood never noticed. Send it to Qrow, who removes the things they don't want know, and he can make a much better case than Ironwood can. Still results in the Grimm coming, but I won't end up dead for it. I didn't survive Marcus and escape Cinder so that one man who has no authority to be here can destroy everything."

Ruby winched. She _hated_ it when the two spoke like this. When they spoke about themselves as if they were anything less than people. Like they didn't have any rights.

"Why didn't you tell us this?" Emerald muttered. She was still skimming through his scroll, something he didn't seem to care about. "Why didn't you tell anyone about what you thought?"

"Because Ironwood would just deny he threatened me with it. He and Qrow have had issues for years and Ozpin has recently been on his 'useless person' list. We might know that Ozpin will act way more boldly when he can, but Ironwood doesn't see it that way. There was nothing they could do about it anyway. It's handled."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ruby echoed Emerald. She had been afraid Mercury didn't like spending time with them anymore. With her.

"Ruby, you are _atrocious_ at lying." Ruby chuckled weakly at Mercury's gentle tone. He wasn't wrong. "You want me to ask Em to keep that a secret from you? On top of that, you have a sense of justice that I can't understand, but can predict. I don't want to cause you any trouble." After a second, he added: "Well, any more trouble."

Emerald snorted at that. Ruby could feel the anger climbing again. Ironic as the fight seemed to have left Em.

"So you deliberately didn't tell us that Ironwood was trying to _blackmail_ you?" Ruby growled. Yeah, she was _very_ miffed at that. At Mercury for not telling her and at Ironwood for trying it. She hadn't decided yet who she was angrier at.

"Yes." Mercury looked her in the eye then. The mask that she could see and so few could still sent a shiver down her spine. "You knew something was wrong. That was enough."

"That-"

"Ruby. You're biased. So is Qrow and Ozpin. Amber agreeing with them hasn't helped his mood. He has had no evidence to suggest I'm _not_ working for Cinder. He's _not_ wrong to be distrustful."

Hearing Mercury agree with Ironwood wasn't helping Ruby's mood. It was only making it worse. Em's silent agreement made her snap again.

" _When_ exactly were you going to tell us about _any_ of this?!"

Mercury. Flinched.

Her stomach clenched when she realised it wasn't from her words, but from her tone. She had _never_ snarled at him like that before. She hadn't seen him flinch at all since-

"After the Vytal Festival," he muttered, not meeting her gaze now. "After we knew what had happened, if it was good or bad."

Ruby didn't know if she wanted to hug him or yell at him.

Emerald hadn't made up her mind either. She refused to look at him. "So why change your mind?"

He sighed. "It wasn't too bad at first. An hour here, an hour there…Now it's starting to cut far too much into what little time I have. Yesterday, I was up there since seven and when I came down, first thing I did was find you." At _dinnertime._ "He was suspicious of that as well, by the way. Idiot stuck a tracker on me."

Okay, Ruby could stand the General questioning Mercury if he agreed to it. A tracker was _not_ allowed.

"Where's the tracker now?"

"Slipped it into Qrow's pocket. He probably noticed, but won't have a look until he's alone."

Ruby almost wished she could be there when Uncle Qrow exploded. Almost.

"He's way too focused on you," Emerald muttered. Ruby couldn't tell what she thought.

Mercury shrugged. "He thinks he's onto something and the rest of them are blind. He would think the same of you Em, if he didn't have a real reason for keeping an eye on you. He's never seen anything that suggests I'm _not_ working for Cinder." Ruby opened her mouth. "All he knows is that, for some unknown reason, Qrow adopted the kids that tried to rip a certain woman's soul out and has been told that they trust me." Mercury scoffed. "I wouldn't believe them either."

"….You're not him anymore," Ruby mumbled.

"It's not me that needs convincing." Mercury stood up. He sighed. "One day, you two might have to make a choice: me or the rest of the family? Me or Remnant? At this rate, it'll be someday soon. I've tried, but we've seen how difficult it is to sway someone from their beliefs, no matter how much we disagree." He headed towards the tunnel, but stopped just before he left. "For the record, I'm sorry."

Ruby tried to follow him.

But he was far too quick. He was just gone.

Ruby knew what she chose. She chose _not_ to choose. She was _never_ going to let it get into the situation that she _had_ to choose.

Emerald hadn't moved. She was still leaning against the wall of the cave, watching the rain that had started to fall. Ruby sat next to her.

"I don't understand Emerald. I thought…" Ruby didn't know what she thought.

"Cinder went looking for Marcus Black, Ruby. That should tell you enough about him. Mercury's not wrong; if Ironwood wanted, he could get him killed. Mercury's asking if we're willing to allow Cinder to destroy Beacon if it means keeping him. For me, that choice is easy. The choice between him and our family…I won't."

Ruby swallowed. Then she glared. She wasn't either.

"Still…If Ironwood is used to dealing with the father of our family, maybe we need to tell the mother exactly what has been going on."

Mercury never came back to bed that night. When the pair entered the dorm, the eagle and quetzalcoatl were waiting for them on the bed. He never responded when they tried to talk while aura reading.

Emerald pulled out the big guns.

* * *

 **AN: The weekend spelled the end of the doubles round. The following week is solely for the one on ones.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	5. Drawing Near

**In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth.**

* * *

Taiyang was beyond furious.

He was used to annoyance and aggravation. Those things happened when you had kids and currently having four rambunctious teenagers would cause a few irritations. He wouldn't have it any other way.

Bringing harm to his family, intentionally or unintentionally, is always going to be a trigger for his anger.

And this was very deliberate.

/

General James Ironwood knew he had been walking a fine line the past few days. He knew he had passed it when Qrow showed up. It hadn't occurred to him how much his informant was watched and he had expected him to hide it much better.

Qrow Branwen, he could handle.

When Taiyang Xiao Long appeared, he swallowed.

 _I may have made more of a miscalculation than I thought._

"Mr Xiao Long. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Pleasure? Right now, I want answers about what has been happening between you and my son."

Taiyang had always been an easy going man. James had never heard this tone of fury before. He knew that Taiyang was very protective of his family, but Black and Sustrai _weren't_ his family. However, that was not a wise point to start with, especially when he was this angry.

"I need answers to important questions. Mercury Black worked for Cinder Fall and so he is the most likely to have the answers."

"No, Emerald would as she worked for her longer. Or is it because she's the new Spring Maiden that you can't threaten her the same way you can with Mercury? Is it because Emerald _knows_ you can't kill her and Mercury knows you _would_ kill him?"

"I would do no such thing."

"That's not what you say to him and I can prove it. I'm not going to let you ruin his life."

"I am doing no such thing." He needed answers and he needed leverage to ensure Black was giving him the right ones. He was ready to carry out his threat and, as Black was cooperating, he had nothing to fear.

 _What does he mean? He can prove it?_

That did worry James a little. Taiyang was not one for making bluffs. He wasn't one for making threats either, but it would appear that he hadn't realised that Black was genuinely cared about. James thought he was only tolerated. He recalled when Ruby and Black were questioned the morning after the dance, specifically when Ruby's hand slid into his. He had thought that was for her comfort, not for his.

" _Try me._ I dare you. The hours he spends with you, he could have told you his entire life story. Enough is enough. _Leave him alone!_ "

James would normally call him by his first name. Taiyang would most likely hit him if he did. "Mr Xiao Long, there is too much at risk. I cannot-"

"You were not invited to Vale Ironwood and you were certainly not invited to interrogate and threaten my son. One more step out of line and I'll make sure that you are never trusted in this inner circle or the general public again."

"You cannot back up that bluff."

The cheerful grin that Taiyang responded with removed any doubt from James' mind. He _did_ have back up for that threat.

"Mercury is not stupid, Ironwood. He knows what he wants and he wants us. He has taken steps to ensure it stays that way, even if it means he has to separate from us in the short term." The glare appeared. "I will take great delight in paying back the man that has caused _all_ of my family so much strife recently."

Black and Sustrai _did_ had the protection of the Xiao Long and Branwen family.

Then there was only one thing James could do at the moment.

"I apologize Mr Xiao Long. I will not do so again."

Taiyang said nothing as he turned on his heel and stomped out of the office.

When he did, James found he could breathe again.

/

Tai hadn't noticed there wasn't anything wrong over the past few days. Mercury didn't like large crowds and the noise level in the colosseum would give him a migraine very quickly. These childish matches would also really test his patience. That he even stepped in there for most of his friends' matches was a pure sign of his loyalty. It made the fact that he had no idea how Burgundy defeated Ice (ICCE) in the doubles round very jarring.

However, the first worry had been when Qrow showed up on Saturday night with Mercury's scroll, absolutely livid. Listening to that had told Taiyang exactly what the problem was. Halfway through the first recording, he received a message from Emerald.

Mercury himself had shown up at midnight at the flat the two were staying at, soaking wet from the storm, and asked for a room for the night.

 ** _"We had a fight and I'm not going to make them choose."_**

He hadn't explained more than that. Tai had just asked if he wanted to share and if so, who with. Mercury chose on his own and left early Sunday morning, not even saying 'good morning'. He would have had breakfast with Tai and/or Qrow normally.

Unless it wasn't just Ruby and Emerald he was avoiding.

Muzzling Ironwood had taken all of five minutes.

Tai had thought finding Mercury to tell him that he was fine would be that simple. The stage was the first stop as it was the finals for their singing competition tonight. It turned out he had an argument with Jaune (which had apparently never happened before) and left, though Blake and Weiss said he had sent them when they showed up earlier than expected.

Yang hadn't seen him.

Qrow hadn't seen him.

Emerald and Ruby hadn't seen him and they weren't going to be chasing him around to talk to him. Mercury may have been thinking and acting long term, but that didn't change the fact he was hurting the girls short term.

Tai sighed.

Okay, he had (reluctantly) come to terms with the three way relationship. Given the unusual background of Mercury and Emerald (and Ruby was not like many teenage girls), they wouldn't have most of the arguments others had. Jealousy for example. However, it didn't mean they didn't have disagreements. Theirs were just more unusual. After all, most relationships did not have to worry about the leader of one Kingdom threatening one of them. Especially as a few wrong moves could result in death.

The thing Emerald was furious about was that Mercury said he was giving them that choice, but acted as if he wanted them to choose something in particular. Right at the beginning, Emerald would have preferred to go on the run with Mercury than go to Ruby's house without him.

The thing Ruby was furious about was that Mercury had fallen back into the mind-set that he was expendable and that he was worth less than anyone in the family.

Mercury was fighting to stay with them and not wind up dead. He was also trying to push them into choosing the family rather than him if they had to.

This whole situation was a nightmare.

Qrow still had Mercury's scroll, so they couldn't just call him. When searching in crow form, Qrow saw him grab lunch from a take away before meeting with the ten that made it to the semi-finals. He waited, but Mercury didn't come out the front door.

Either he knew that he was being followed, suspected it or was just paranoid.

 _Damn Ironwood. He wasn't acting like this a few days ago._

He arranged for someone else to cover for him backstage during the singing competition and never showed up, despite the fact his friend Nyall was in the finals. There was no sign of him for the entire time, even when Nyall won.

Then Mercury didn't come back to the flat at all Sunday night nor to his dorm room.

Taiyang waited until 5am before accepting this. Skipping his night of sleep, Tai went looking for him. He was going to be grounded for life if he deliberately chose to sleep rough.

Ten minutes later, he received a message from Ozpin. He had caught Mercury at the stage dismantling the audio and, before he could slip off again, had told him to check on something in the colosseum. With a note of thanks, Tai headed there.

 _Finally._

Mercury must have heard him. He merely slid the box back to where it was and waited. He wasn't going to turn around. "Hey Taiyang."

"You are remarkably difficult to find." However, Tai hadn't spent the past two days fighting for him to fight with him now. Emerald and Ruby were going to do that for him. He just rested a hand on his shoulder. Mercury tensed up. He hadn't done that for so long. [Don't worry about Ironwood. I've handled it.]

[Thanks.] That didn't really cheer him up. After all, he had to do most of the work. Other than the words, Tai wasn't able to get anything from him.

[What are you doing?]

[Security.]

 _Of course you are._

[When are you going to bed?]

Mercury didn't answer immediately. He was at the point that answering truthfully like Taiyang wanted him to was going to get him into a lot of trouble. And he couldn't lie. [Eventually.]

[And when are you going to talk to the girls?]

[Eventually. Thursday. The tournament's finished on Wednesday, so Thursday.]

Tai nodded slightly. He thought Thursday was a bit late, but it would be worse if he tried to force it. It was going to be a very nasty break up if things went south. [What was your argument about?]

Rather than tell him, Mercury showed him. One moment, Tai was in the stadium. The next, he was in some sort of cove. What he sensed of Mercury's emotions was irritation, annoyance and slight regret.

[I could have handled it better.]

[You could have,] Tai agreed as the arena returned to his senses. Thursday made a lot more sense as the tournament seemed to be part of the argument. [You could have handled it worse.] He could have lost his temper completely. [But you're going to need to approach them this time.] He didn't seem enthusiastic about that. [First though, you're going to get some sleep.]

Mercury was even less enthusiastic about that. However, he knew which battles were not worth fighting because he had no chance of winning. Instead, he let out a low growl.

"Fine, but we are not stopping at the dorms."

"That's fine."

[And would you send Ruby a message to knock it off?]

[What do you mean?]

Mercury turned around and leaned against the wall. Tai kept his hand in place. [I don't know how she's doing it but…I can sense where she is but she's doing _something_ to that _._ Sometimes it's like a tug, sometimes a push and sometimes it's just…I don't know. A shake. Tell her to cut it out.]

That was worrying. [Are you sure it's not telling you she's in danger?]

[I _know_ what that feels like. No, I'm sure she's doing this on purpose. I don't know how and right now, I want to sleep.]

Mercury's scroll was still with Qrow, so he couldn't just call her himself. Maybe she was deliberately annoying him to get him to talk to them. If so, it seemed to be working. Still, if they could do that, then maybe they would be able to call for help with it. Their danger sense only seemed to work if one of them was dying or unconscious.

 _Let them work it out._

This time, Taiyang stayed awake until dawn and sent Mercury back to bed when he tried to get up. Leaving Qrow to babysit him, it was six in the morning when he finally went to bed himself.

Only to get up five hours later and realise the kid still hadn't taken his scroll, despite the fact it had been left in such an obvious place there was no way he missed it. He wanted to make sure his insurance was in place, even if that meant they couldn't check on him.

These kids were going to be the death of him.

* * *

"Welcome to the one on one finals!"

Ruby Rose. Blake Belladonna. Rio Keen. Yatsuhashi Daichi. Sun Wukong. Iris Greenfield. Orion Shard. Cole Bankman.

Two first years. Two second years. Four fourth years.

Oh yeah. Yang was looking forward to this.

There hadn't been much of a discussion who to send through to the doubles round. Em and Merc would flatten anyone they faced and could have done when Yang first met them. But that wasn't what they wanted. Besides, Mercury was getting very irritated at the lack of challenge. The professors were sorting out a schedule for next year for him to spar with them, including Professor Ozpin. Emerald was rather laid back about the whole thing. Throughout the year, both Yang and Ruby had lost to some of their classmates. They wanted to know where they were now from when they started.

Ruby in the finals showed how much they had improved. Team Apricot may have been first years, but Team Rainbow were second years and, by how they defeated Team Jump, they were more experienced than the other second years Yang had seen.

Ruby wanted to go through to see how she fared on her own.

This stage was very different. There were no extra biomes; only centre stage. There was no room to hide and very little room to run.

Just a good old fashioned one on one.

The first good old fashioned one on one was Cole Bankman from Haven against Yatsuhashi Daichi from Beacon.

Cole's weapon was interesting. It had the handle of a sword, but the blade widened quickly and, rather than a pointy end, there was a semi-circle gap instead. It would be difficult to stab someone with that, though not impossible.

Whatever the reason for his odd choice, it meant that they were treated to an excellent sword fight.

Ruby once commented a lot of people had some sort of blade variant. The styles certainly varied and they always changed into different things.

The clanking of metal against metal sang throughout the arena. Unlike the previous matches, the crowd were silent. Most were on the edge of their seats.

Mercury had once said a fight was determined by three things: skill, experience and luck. Those three things made Uncle Qrow one of the best Huntsmen on Remnant (misfortune Semblance that robbed them of much of their time together). Cole had two years of Beacon education over Yatsuhashi, but Yang didn't know what had happened over those years or what happened before Beacon.

Unfortunately, Yatsuhashi did lose, but he put up a very impressive fight. When he was knocked to 14 aura, Cole had been on 34. A result to be proud of.

"And after an honourable duel, Cole Bankman of Haven is victorious!"

The cheering was deafening, almost as if they were making up for their mutually agreed silence. The applause continued for the few minutes it took for them to check damage to the arena and during the entire time the randomizer was spinning.

Next up: Ruby Rose vs Orion Shard.

 _Good luck Ruby. Go get 'em!_

Yang could hear a few of the whispers nearby. A first year against a fourth year? She exchanged a smile with Emerald. If Orion was expecting an easy ride, he was going to be _very_ surprised.

Within seconds, Ruby had knocked off 20 of his aura without suffering a scratch and that was before she started using her Semblance. It certainly made Orion shape up. However, other than almost two years of education and experience over the other first years save BRN, Ruby had another advantage.

She had sparred with Mercury when he wielded a knife.

Granted, Orion had two, but Yang didn't think he was as good as Merc was. Then again, she hadn't met anyone even near their age as good as Merc was.

With weapons at least. He had a lot to learn about relationships. As much as she wanted to knock all three of their heads together, Yang did have to let them sort it out. In her opinion, this was a several hour long argument chat. No doubt Merc was somewhere in the audience, even though he wasn't with them.

 _Why can't they have normal problems? Though it is a good thing that they're not insecure about each other…_

Having a scythe, Ruby was able to keep at a large enough distance that the knives couldn't reach. It also made sure the one time Orion got an excellent hit, she wasn't knocked off. A sniper rifle helped even more.

Even if there were pistols built into the hilts of the knives. Yang had no idea how. She would ask Ruby later; that should cheer her up.

Although Merc was the one she liked to speak technobabble with…Just like Emerald liked talking biobabble with him…

Ruby was still mentally a year lower than Orion. Still, Yang was sure he had had an easier life than some of the others and Ruby had been sparring with Mercury and Emerald. They pulled their punches a lot, but she had learned quickly. She may not be as strong or experienced as a fourth year, but they had specifically taught her how to take on more dangerous opponents.

 _Even if their logic was for her to stun them so she could run…_

Yang did hope that Ruby wouldn't come across anyone who needed 'Emery Rules' for quite a while yet. As this was Ruby, it may be a futile wish.

Now Orion had hit his stride. Ruby had gone from dominating the match to struggling. On top of that, Orion had started to use his Semblance. Yang wasn't entirely sure how to describe it, but it almost seemed like he was pulling the stage itself apart. She had no idea how he was doing that; he was just crouched down with a hand on the floor.

Just as well it was Ruby up there and not Yang. Yang couldn't change direction mid-air. It was now 20 aura and 22 aura, with neither able to get a proper shot off.

Rather than keep fighting him with Crescent Rose, Ruby caught Orion in her petals after another mid-air change and dropped him on the actual floor. The arena snapped back to normal as Orion recognised he was beaten.

"And in an incredible upset, Ruby Rose of Beacon is victorious!"

Yang was on her feet, along with all their friends. If she lost her voice, she would not care. Well, she would only care so she could cheer again tomorrow. Nearly everyone was on their feet, no matter where they were from.

Ruby was practically glowing as she bounced up and down in joy.

 _That's the way Ruby! Way to go!_

Again, the cheering continued until the next match was decided. It took Sun a moment to notice that he was next. Blake wished him luck. He waved it off and bowed to her.

Match 3 of 4 tonight was Sun Wukong vs Iris Greenfield.

Sun had nunchuck staff. Iris had two of some sort of long whip thing. Yang made a mental note to quiz Merc later.

Iris had remarkable control over both individually. She could aim one way and manipulate it carefully, but do something completely different with the second at the same time. Sun was quick, but both whips had a long reach and moved almost like they were alive.

Sun used the staff to catch one whip and one of his Semblance clones took the hit for another. The second Semblance clone made a very good dent into Iris' aura.

The second time he tried it, Iris didn't fall for it. Somehow, the whip arced around the yellow clone and smacked into Sun, who lost focus and fell victim to the second whip.

That wasn't the last time those whip things did that. It was like Sun was fighting three people rather than just one. In fact, Yang was very sure what those whips were doing was impossible. Maybe that something to do with Iris' Semblance; her aura was lower than it should be for one hit. 78.

Sun wasn't doing so well. His constant Semblance use and the many hits had his aura at 27.

Changing his attack, Sun separated the staff and aimed for long range, trying to stay away from the danger.

So far, the whips had only arced around an obstacle.

This time, it literally dodged around the bullets and swipes, moving together to smack Sun off his feet, then again when he was in the air. He twisted to dodge, but the result was the same: he was out.

It was the shortest match, but it was also the most confusing. Yang had seen all the matches so far and Iris had never used her weapons like that.

"In complete defiance of every law of physics, Iris Greenfield wins!"

It was a few seconds before the applause came and that was only because the crowd were trying to figure out what just happened.

This left Blake Belladonna against Rio Keen.

Rio was interesting. Yang hadn't seen him around very much (only in previous matches) and he hadn't been in any of the other competitions going on the past few weeks. He had some very fancy gauntlets, almost animalistic and they were claw like on the end. Underneath were very casual clothes; grey jeans and a long shirt. Appropriate weapons. Instead of punching and kicking, he swiped the way an animal would.

Blake managed well, adapting quickly to his strikes. She used the sheath and blade separately; blocking with one and jabbing with the other. She also alternated, so he couldn't just block the one hitting him.

Then it turned out he could teleport.

 _Hang on. Teleport? Remarkably unfair. And that long shirt must be a nightmare to iron._

Blake had a Semblance too. In this situation, it was very helpful. The copy could take the hit so Blake could strike back. Even when he attacked from behind, Blake could still respond quickly.

Aura from both was dropping rapidly and it was remarkably difficult to follow the action. They were way too fast.

The only question was which would hit the red first.

 _Come on Blake…_

This was definitely the fastest paced of the four matches. It was also the most evenly matched when it came to use of Semblances. In fact, it was the most evenly matched. With the other three, there was a sense of who would win from near the beginning unless something was done.

24:31

23:25

19:18

 _Yes!_

"What a way to wrap up the night! Blake Belladonna of Beacon is the winner!"

All in all, an _excellent_ night.

Romantic problems aside.

* * *

Weiss was in a good mood. She may not have made it to the finals, but watching a lot of these matches showed that it didn't mean she was a poor combatant. It merely meant it wasn't her day. No one had expected a first year team to get much farther than the first round and, technically, the two teams that did weren't first years.

It seemed that only her father was disappointed, but Weiss didn't care. He couldn't pull her from Beacon without her consent unless there was a very strong health or family problem. Even if he tried, Winter had promised to discuss it with Professor Ozpin before he allowed Weiss out of his care.

Weiss had planned to go out with the other eleven for a very late meal.

Finding Yang outside what she thought was a spare room confused her. "Yang?"

Yang put a finger to her lips and pointed to the room. Weiss rolled her eyes at the obvious eavesdropping and approached quietly. After a moment, Yang typed out something on her scroll and showed it to her.

'Go on. We'll catch up'

Weiss shrugged and pointed to the room, mouthing: 'who?'

When Yang held up three fingers, Weiss understood: Ruby, Emerald and Mercury. Again, Weiss shrugged. Yang deleted the last note on her scroll and typed out one word: 'arguing'.

Now Weiss was very curious.

Eavesdropping was usually below her, but in this case she was going to make an exception. She tiptoed to the door. She didn't even need to press an ear against the obstacle.

Ruby: "That's not what he said and you know it!"

Mercury: "That's what he meant and you know it."

Emerald: "This is going in circles. If you don't want this anymore Mercury, then just say it."

Mercury: "What the hell makes you think that? So I'm alone a little more. Doesn't mean I'm done with this."

Emerald: "Could have fooled me."

Weiss held back a groan. She had never liked overhearing arguments and this one was no exception. Still, she was supposed to be dining with all three of them soon, so she needed to know how to respond to whatever was happening.

There was a brief silence.

Ruby: "Mercury, I get that you've got things to do. But what exactly are we supposed to think?…Well, there you go."

Emerald: "You need to let this go Mercury. It's not our problem anymore."

Mercury: "You might be happy being a first year student Emerald, but that's not what I am. So I've work to do that you don't. Simple as that."

Weiss frowned and glanced at Yang. She mouthed: 'later'. Nodding once in acknowledgement, she listened.

…

Ruby: "Then maybe…maybe we need to…step back. For a little while."

Yang went as still as a statue.

Weiss looked at her. Yang was speechless. That had never happened before.

…

Mercury: "Do you agree Emerald?"

…

Emerald: "Yeah. For a little while."

Mercury: "Okay then."

Yang backed away from the door. Still silent. Weiss followed her example. She had no idea what to say either.

Mercury appeared. He didn't seem to care they overheard.

"Mercury…" Yang had no idea what to say.

He zipped his jacket up fully. "If they want the gift back Yang, just message Qrow okay? He'll let me know and get it to them. Keep an eye on them, alright?"

Dumbly, Yang nodded. Then she tried again. "They care Merc."

"I know. I haven't been a good boyfriend to them recently. Or friend at all actually. See you at dinner." He walked down the hallway, soon vanishing from sight.

Weiss bit her lip. She glanced back at Yang, who was obviously torn between following Mercury and going in to see the others. Weiss nudged her and pointed to her scroll. Yang blinked, before she understood and messaged Qrow and her Dad. Then she headed to see the girls.

Ruby was curled up on a crate. Emerald was leaning on a different one. They weren't angry. In fact, Ruby looked like she was about to cry.

"Yang. I-We…"

"Sometimes things don't work out," Yang commented. No blame anywhere. "Give it until the end of the school year." A week's time. "Then you can talk properly."

"Thursday might be better," Emerald muttered. "Can't deal with it tomorrow."

"Yeah."

Weiss was missing something here.

"He said if you wanted your gift back-"

"No," Emerald immediately cut in. Ruby shook her head at supersonic speed. "It's his. It-This is just an argument. One we'll talk through later in the week."

 _What is so special about Wednesday, other than being the last day of the Vytal Festival Tournament?_

The three were okay at the late dinner. Ruby and Emerald sat away from each other, Yang and Mercury. They were perfectly friendly, but didn't make eye contact. No one brought anything up.

Even Weiss could see they still really cared about each other. This separation, even from Weiss' point of view, wasn't going to be good for them.

Weiss was almost jealous. Her parents weren't anything like this. She couldn't deny she was sad about this temporary break.

* * *

Nyall could have applied for Haven. He would have needed to go through very vigorous training to catch up the year before and he wanted more time with Melody. If he was honest, he wasn't ready for 24 hour constant work, being far too relaxed. He was happier to go the slower route and apply a year late. Quite a few did that, including his friend Silvo. He stayed in Mistral.

It was one thing to read about the ragtag group that made up Melody's friends. It was another thing entirely to actually meet them. These twelve (including Zephyr, who had dropped out and hadn't been seen for a while) were well liked even by the older years.

In fact, a part of Nyall regretted not applying to Beacon for next year.

Vale was pretty good and had plenty to offer, from the little kids to the grandparents. Most of it was for teenagers and a little older, so they were never bored.

 _I wonder if this city or Beacon was built first._

Mostly, Nyall had been out with Melody, with some of her friends or SSSN. He had been out with a few others, but those were the main ones.

If all Combat Schools were like this, which Sun claimed they were but maybe not as much depended on who was attending, then Nyall was really looking forward to starting.

Especially if he got the chance to fight in the Amity Colosseum. This thing was an amazing piece of architecture.

It was Tuesday today. The final fight was on Wednesday. He was going home on Saturday, as he was needed with his parents next week. His sister did have the decency to wait until he got back before going on holiday with her friends and the last time they left their parents, they were an argument away from a very ill thought out divorce.

Two hot-headed people that often spoke before they thought could be disastrous and losing his little brother to a Grimm attack four years previous had only escalated things.

Nyall was old enough and mature enough to manage if he had to make it on his own. His sister was only 15 and she was still very immature, the kind to spend her money on clothes if she was hundreds of lien in debt. He wasn't close to his parents, but he was close with Ivy. When she grew up and left, his parents could focus on themselves.

He was sure they were going to get a divorce the minute they could. The spark just wasn't there anymore and he wasn't going to push.

Of course, Ivy's wish of being a doctor (and having the grades for it), might extend that for longer than they would like.

There were only two fights tonight. There was only going to be one fight tomorrow.

Nyall was fine with that.

The first fight of the night was Blake vs Iris. The last fight of the night was Ruby vs Cole.

 _Pity. I was hoping to see Ruby and Blake fight. At least Blake has a chance to get revenge for her boyfriend's loss. If she can get past the impossible snake like things._

Blake didn't seem to have much of a problem with the snake like things. She was too quick for it and if Iris was doing something, which Nyall would put money on she was, then she couldn't make them move fast enough to hit Blake.

The thing about these matches was that they can sometimes be repetitive. Iris was trying loads of different forms of attack, but Blake dodged each one. The very few she couldn't, which were random, always hit her clone before it hit her.

Sun's strategy. He hadn't been quick enough to pull it off, but Blake was.

On top of that, it was able to go through her clone, so rebound didn't happen. That must be difficult to adapt to.

Blake merely used Sun's strategy for success. There was no coup de grace, no special move. It was just chipping away and dodging until Iris was eliminated.

That was one first year in the final. Had that ever happened before?

"Not bad at all," Nyall commented to Jaune, his voice a little louder than he was used to because of the applause.

"That's the way it's done," Jaune replied happily.

Ruby had a much harder time of it. A scythe was not an easy weapon to use against a sword. There was also the fact that Cole, unlike Orion, took her seriously from the very beginning. He went in close, but remained cautious.

Cole wasn't used to fighting a scythe (though to be fair, Nyall hadn't seen anyone other than Ruby use a scythe). Ruby seemed to be struggling with using a scythe against a sword, especially one as oddly shaped as that.

The oddly shaped sword was also used a slightly different way. Cole kept twisting it in the few times the points made it past Ruby's defences. Maybe he was trying to disarm her. She just kept flipping her scythe to stop him.

Still, the constant clashes and lack of proper hits made it drag on a little. That didn't make it any the less interesting to watch. In fact, it made it more difficult to guess who was going to win.

In Nyall's opinion, that was the most important thing.

It was still a great and pleasant surprise when Ruby managed to strike out a win.

"That is it for the semi-finals! For the first time in this tournament history, the finals tomorrow will be between two first years! Who says older is better?"

Nyall grinned. He just knew.

Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a show.

* * *

 **AN: My original plan was to have the Vytal Festival tournament last a lot longer. The problem was that there was far too much filler that I didn't like in there, so I cut a little and reorganised quite a bit. Much of that missing part is now on a oneshot folder on my computer that I am considering posting it merely so I can find the incidents I am looking for much easier. It has a lot of things cut from the previous two fics as well, so it is getting difficult to find the stuff I'm looking for.**

 **The next update may be a little slower so sorry if it is. Thank you for reading.**


	6. Final Night

**In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Qrow paced in Ozpin's office. Ozpin himself was sitting behind his desk, muscles taunt. Amber was also tense, eyes narrowed. Glynda was studying the video feed very carefully. James was on one of his three ships, expecting trouble.

"I don't like this," Qrow muttered. It still carried in the silent room. "It's been far too quiet."

"Patience Qrow," Ozpin responded calmly. "Only one more night."

"That's exactly what worries me."

In previous tournaments, tonight would be solely focused on the match between the two finalists (congratulations Ruby). However, this year the public wanted a little more beforehand. This wasn't what they wanted, but telling them that they were trying to get through the night as quickly as possible so the certain individuals that wanted to destroy Remnant would have less chance to do so would be rather counter-productive.

Still, it was a group of dancers and Nyall Dewlight had agreed to sing a song as he had won that competition. Not too much and this was supposed to be a time of festivity.

Qrow really hated this time every other year.

The dancers were good, Qrow would admit that. Nyall had one hell of a voice too and he had an interesting taste in music. Not rock n roll but much softer with far more meaning: 'Meet me on the battlefield'.

 _Wonder who picked that song._

A brief break before the fight.

Amber moved the camera slightly and zoomed in. It took a few seconds for it to register with Qrow exactly what he was seeing, but when he did there was only one appropriate response.

"Dammit."

The video was off because it was linked to heat sensor technology. This idea had come from one of the games Mercury had played when he was in that house alone with the others at Hogwarts. One thing heat sensors were good at was finding warm-blooded things that were invisible.

There was one figure above the stands, but just under the roof that didn't show up on the normal video. It was fiddling with something that was most likely a gun.

"Pepper," Qrow growled.

"But who's her target?" Amber asked. "Blake or Ruby? The audience maybe?"

"Ruby most likely," Ozpin murmured. "She is very popular with all the students and it is easiest to see her as an innocent child. The most impact."

Now Qrow was really furious. "That's not happening."

"Easy Qrow," Amber cut in, her voice calming. "She could take you down before you got close. Who knows what kind of ammo she has?"

Qrow did recall that Mercury had still had aura when that drug took him down in Glade Town. If Pepper had that, which she almost certainly did, then yes Qrow needed to be careful. He couldn't go in in crow form either because the roof was blocked-

 _Hang on…_

Qrow headed over to the window, pushing one open.

"Qrow-"

He didn't let Ozpin finish. "Talaria Oz. She's our trump card. And she's much faster than me."

Would Salem consider Talaria? Probably not. She had remained in the dorm, out of sight and out of the way. On top of that, why would Cinder even think Talaria came back with them? A mask is one thing; a living creature is another entirely.

On top of that, she operated by scent as well as sight and hearing.

Qrow shifted into the crow and took to the wing. His destination wasn't far and they normally left the window open, trusting Talaria to stay where they told her to and allowing her to leave if she felt threatened.

The little dragon was curled up on Yang's pillow, with Zwei lying next to her. Both heads shot up at the sight and possibly smell of the crow that wasn't a crow.

Talaria hopped to her claws when the crow transformed into Qrow. Zwei barked a welcome.

"Yeah, I'm a crow." He held out his hand so Talaria could get a proper sniff of him. She tilted her head, her way of showing confusion. "McGonagall is a cat way."

Talaria nodded. Mercury had gotten into a little trouble when Talaria was only a few weeks old and decided to chase McGonagall in her cat form.

Qrow found the arena on his scroll, logged in so he could access Ironwood's cameras and found the right spot. He moved it down so the person directly underneath was visible.

"See him?" Talaria studied the image for a moment before nodding. "Above him," he moved the image back to the correct spot, "is someone who can be smelt but not seen." Again, that tilt of the head. Then a nod. "Go to the colosseum. Follow the arrows to this area. Attack the scent that is there that you can't see."

Qrow held his breath. Talaria was intelligent, but this went against quite a few rules they had given her.

Talaria was still for a precious second. She growled and clipped her jaws, choosing this method of Atlesian Code rather than tapping.

{Mother? Pack rules?}

 _That 'Mother' never ceases to amuse me. Even when she's calling me 'Beta Mother' and Tai 'Alpha Mother'._

"Follow Pepper. You might be able to see her later, but follow her scent. Tell Mercury; he'll help you. When she's out of that area, follow Mercury's orders."

Talaria nodded and shot out of the window at a speed Ruby would be proud of.

Qrow headed to the stadium himself. He had no hope of getting there in time, but if there was a backup plan after Pepper (such as Ginger or their unknown triplet) then he would be in a better place.

Unfortunately, Qrow still had Mercury's scroll, so he couldn't contact him. Tai would be more focussed on his daughter's match and could miss a message. On top of that, by the time Qrow told him the issue, there was little he could do. Sending Talaria was the quickest option available.

Qrow also couldn't use his scroll in crow form. That was his quickest option.

* * *

James had received the message that Pepper had been 'spotted' on the heat sensors and was looking at it for himself. Sending his men in wouldn't help as she could take them down before they went anywhere near her and they weren't equipped with sniper rifles.

From her movements, Pepper was.

Qrow's idea of using the little dragon did have merit. However, was it intelligent enough to understand (learning Atlesian Code and understanding Basic would suggest so) and, more importantly, was it obedient?

He sent one of his men to discretely head to a position to fire in case nothing happened.

Within three minutes of receiving the message from Ozpin, James saw one of the doors open slightly. He saw something very small and brownish gold hovering in the air. He zoomed in and studied the little thing. It did look like a dragon from fairy tales, but there were key differences between it and the known Grimm dragons.

 _So that's Talaria. The normal species grows fifteen feet in length, remarkably fast and venomous. And it belongs to the son of an assassin._

It (did Black refer to it as a 'he' or 'she'?) was very logical. Its head moved slowly, until it stopped in a certain direction. Then it (her, definitely her) flew up and into the construction of the roof.

Unable to track her, James returned his attention to Pepper. She was waiting patiently, still invisible.

Only to knock something away a second later.

The dragon had found her target.

James zoomed out to see how everyone else was taking this. No one seemed to have noticed anything; all focused on the two competitors now stepping into the ring.

"Give a big welcome our finalists! Ruby Rose and Blake Belladonna from Beacon have fought their way into the top two! Who will emerge victorious?!"

All but one.

Black seemed to notice something was off. By chance, he and a few of his friends had been sitting opposite of Pepper, so he could probably see something. He left his seat and headed up towards the tunnels. Nyall and Jaune, who he had been beside, looked at each other before following.

Pepper retreated into the closest tunnel. Talaria followed her.

No one in the audience noticed a thing.

* * *

Pyrrha clapped for her friends as Blake and Ruby stepped into the arena.

It was a nice change not to be up there for once. She was proud of her achievements, but she would much rather have her friends than the fame. It was so refreshing to be able to be herself.

The only slight hiccup was that their group was split up a bit again. All of them were sure it wouldn't last long though. Tonight was not the night to worry about worries.

Ruby was grinning. Blake was smiling too.

The crowd were quiet. They were just waiting.

"Now for the main event! The finals of the Vytal Festival Tournament! In one corner, Ruby Rose and in the other corner, Blake Belladonna!"

They deserved a cheer.

Ruby and Blake shook hands and headed to their respected halves. Ruby unfolder her scythe.

Blake reached up and removed the bow from around her ears. She tied the new string around the sheath, so both her sword and sheath had ribbon attached.

Ruby bounced eagerly at the new challenge.

"3…2…1…Begin!"

In all other matches, the competitors immediately headed towards each other. They clashed instantly.

Ruby and Blake didn't. They circled for a few moments. Then they struck.

Blake normally analysed her opponent as she fought them. Ruby normally just went with the flow and adapted quickly.

Right now, they could have been in Combat Class sparring. The pace was slower than their previous matches in the tournament. They knew each other and their movements. So they testing if anything happened to be off about them that day.

This match could go either way.

Two minutes in and there was an immediate change. Pyrrha just knew. So did Ruby and Blake. Simultaneously, they began hitting harder and faster.

Ruby was using her scythe to propel herself as well as attack. It was mainly used to change direction. However, that was the first time Ruby had used that manoeuvre while also using her Semblance. The petals had never gone one way and suddenly return the exact same way.

Blake was taken by surprise and only escaped a heavy hit with the use of her Semblance. She attempted to catch Ruby, but missed. She was too quick.

Ruby became visible as Crescent Rose caught the stage again and she landed near the edge.

Blake's shots were now avoided.

The next time they clashed, Ruby twisted Crescent Rose swiftly. The sword flew out of Blake's hand, but Ruby retreated before Blake could respond with the sheath. She did make sure Blake didn't snag the ribbon and the sword was now on the opposite side of the arena.

Blake had also lost her long range weapon.

For a few seconds, Ruby stayed at a distance and fired her sniper rifle. Blake blocked them easily, so she vanished again, not in petals this time.

In fact, she seemed to have just vanished.

Blake closed her eyes and waited. Her cat ears twitched.

Blake slashed to her left. But Ruby went over her head at the last second and managed to hit her side with a quick swing.

Then she dashed away again. She did remain visible.

There was a brief gap as the two caught their breath. Their aura was at 20 each.

They were smiling.

Again, they moved simultaneously. Again, they clashed.

Ruby leapt up. But Blake didn't go after her. She went after her sword. So Ruby burst into petals and went after her.

For once, Ruby was too slow.

Blake's clone actually touched the sword and flipped it up. Blake herself jumped into the air. The sheath was thrown and, incredibly, was timed perfectly to catch her opponent. Ruby's spinning while she was using her Semblance resulted in the ribbon wrapping around her rather than just hitting the ground.

Blake landed and pulled the ribbon.

Ruby smacked into the ground. Hard.

The buzzer sounded.

Ruby's aura was at 5.

Blake Belladonna was the winner of the Vytal Festival Tournament.

* * *

One minute after they left, Jaune and Nyall returned to their seats. Black did not.

"General Ironwood." The intercom flashed. It was Mangrove, the man James had sent to engage Pepper.

"I hear you Mangrove."

"I found one of the competitors in a closet hidden in the southeast tunnel sir. Orion Shard. He's alive, but unconscious and unresponsive. There's no sign of physical injury, but he has no aura and it's not regenerating sir."

This could not be a coincidence.

"Take him to Beacon Infirmary." With Pepper gone, there was no need for Mangrove's previous commands and Beacon infirmary was closest. "Guard the room."

"Understood sir."

Disconnecting, James stood at attention. Leaving the finals on one screen, he started going through the cameras in the southeast hallway. Rewinding it, he focused on the faces.

This was proving to be a long fight between Blake and Ruby.

Orion didn't appear on the camera.

There were two ways into the particular closet, which was used to store large equipment. One was into the southeast hallway. The second was a way that should be for staff only. A recon showed that it was unguarded, which was odd as there should be two Knights stationed there.

There was no record that they were offline or disabled. The others in that group were fine, so those two must be a glitch. They would most likely turn up when everything was dismantled after the tournament was over.

That left the question: who moved them afterwards? Most likely, Orion's attacker. There may be no sign of damage, but James was sure it wasn't a medical condition.

Then there was a call on his scroll. It was Winter.

"Report."

"Sir. There's a dead student in Vale City. Warrick Browning sir." James froze for a second before pulling up Warrick's transcripts. "Cause of death unknown, but the body has been mutilated. There's a symbol drawn in his blood."

Warrick Browning. Second year Haven student. Member of Team Rainbow. No next of kin or family recorded.

"Send the image through."

It was grisly and sickening. The shirt had been ripped off and the chest drawn on. A semi-circle with a mark underneath it. There were several lines connecting them to the shape above, some straight and others squiggly. No line overlapped. Underneath that was a phi symbol with a dot in both sides of the circle.

This meant nothing to James, except that Warrick had not died very long ago, possibly within the hour.

He sent it to Ozpin and returned his attention to Winter.

"Any witnesses that you can see?"

"None. There are no civilians visible and, if the same as last night, there will be none outside for at least four blocks."

Ozpin called. It must be serious.

"Return to your ship Winter and scan for heat signatures."

"Understood sir."

James hung up on her and answered Ozpin. "Do you recognise it Oz?"

"I do. That is the mark that is associated with human Grimm. A mindless monster. What are the details?"

James had never heard of human Grimm. "He was literally just found, already dead. No confirmation on the cause of death and I suspect we'll need an autopsy."

"I cannot see his teammates in the audience. Can you verify this?"

James didn't remember seeing them. He started to look for them. "Orion Shard was found unconscious in the colosseum. I sent him to your infirmary."

"He is in very good hands." Dr Waterbrook was considered one of the best doctors on Remnant. "Mercury seems to be missing too."

James groaned. This was not what he needed right now. "I'll keep an eye out for him." It was possible Black killed Warrick, but he had a knife and the wounds were obviously not consistent with a knife or claws from a creature that size. A sword would be a much better match. "I'm sending Warrick for an autopsy. I'll wait until the match is over before I contact Headmaster Lionheart." Now he was sure. "I can't see the other three."

"I feel they are in Vale at the moment." There was a hesitation there. "James, I hate to ask, but could you send someone to look for them?"

"What are you thinking?"

"…I'm thinking that we never found the other moles in Beacon and it is odd for that mark to crop up again. Only someone who works with Salem is likely to know about it."

Now James understood. "Will do." He did still have some men and Knights around Vale for demonstrations and security. "But what would they have to gain by staying in Vale?"

"I don't know, but I don't think it's a coincidence Warrick was found so close to the colosseum. Almost directly beneath it, in fact."

The match was over. Blake had won.

Nothing had happened.

His scroll vibrated again. He checked it to see Winter was responsible. Hanging up on Ozpin, he waited for her report.

"Has something happened, Winter?"

"A squad of Knights has gone rogue. They are not responding to orders and cannot be remotely shut down."

James recalled that the two guarding the colosseum were missing. Was this deliberate? They were electronically linked to the same squad that Winter reported had 'gone rogue', so a glitch was not impossible. No one would be able to hack into his system.

The scroll buzzed.

Ozpin: Talaria is here. She says RNBW work for Cinder

That was not what James wanted to hear. How the hell did the dragon (or Mercury) know? More importantly, where were they and what were they up to?

"More importantly sir, shots have been fired. There's no evidence of a body, so if there was a hit, they must have their aura unlocked. However, it is unknown who they were targeting, if anyone."

If they couldn't be shut down remotely, then there was a good chance they couldn't be shut down manually either. With the match over, people would be returning to their homes soon, so they needed to get this done now.

"Winter, destroy them and be quick about it."

"Understood sir."

They only had to get through the night. Then James could relax again. Then he saw something that made his mood even worse.

"Winter, start with that building that just came down." It was obviously under construction, so no one should be there. "The Knights are likely there."

* * *

Qrow may be under a lot of stress, but that didn't mean he wasn't proud of his niece. So she hadn't won. She had every right to be proud of herself for merely getting this far.

The only reason he wasn't more enthusiastic was that Mercury _still_ hadn't come back.

Then he got the message from Ozpin that RNBW was the compromised team. He had never come across them, but he had seen their pictures. Another fact was that Talaria reported it, going straight to Ozpin's office. No Mercury.

Now he was livid the teen didn't take his scroll. He was going to be in so much trouble for that.

 _Hang on._

Mercury's name should be between Ozpin's and James' in his scroll. It was gone. Backing up into messages, his previous conversations with that scroll had vanished.

It was as if it never existed.

Qrow ran back the way through the tunnels to the main exit. He was studying Mercury's scroll and had found something interesting and very worrying: it didn't connect to the CCTS. In other words, even if Mercury did have his scroll, he couldn't have called anyone.

Now Qrow was very concerned for Mercury's safety.

 _Too easy. Pepper backed off too easy. He's not at the colosseum either or I'd have run into him. Where is he?_

Something was very wrong here.

Warrick was killed in Vale. Maybe he was there, even if he couldn't have drawn that very familiar symbol. After all, he must have had some reason for thinking RNBW were infiltrators.

Qrow was at the crime scene when he heard the building collapse.

Not five seconds later, he got a panicked message from Emerald. One name only.

He came across Roland on the way, also dead. He had been decapitated. There was a good chance Mercury did that. There was no sign of Nash or Basil.

At least, at first. When he arrived at the rubble, the men with Winter had pulled out Nash. A quick check of him showed he had been crushed to death, most likely by the debris. His aura must have shattered before that though.

"What happened here?" Qrow asked.

Winter glanced back, but dismissed him as she focused on the rubble. For a moment anyway. "The cause of collapse is under investigation. No one else has yet been found."

"Are you expecting anyone else?"

"A female voice was heard, but has not been seen. The words meaning are unknown."

Dealing with these guys was like pulling teeth and Qrow was in no mood for this. "Well, which words did she _use_?" After all, Winter didn't know everything.

"'It is time to leave. We have what we came for.' However, there was nothing stored in this building."

 _What we came for? So their target wasn't the tournament at all? Or did something change that? What change-_

Five seconds between this building coming down and Emerald's message.

 _Dammit!_

Qrow knew what they had come for now.

And they had practically gift-wrapped him.

Pepper could have caused a panic, but they didn't seem too fussed she hadn't succeeded. There hadn't been a back-up plan.

Because all their effort had been directed elsewhere.

He shifted to a crow and headed up into the sky. It was much easier to find things even with the crow's poor night vision. After all, what he was looking for was pretty big and human night vision wasn't anything to brag about either.

Qrow found it.

The airship doors had just closed, but Qrow had seen inside it. He tried to chase it, but it was fruitless. He knew it would be.

Qrow had seen Mercury inside. He had been unconscious. He couldn't see any more than that; couldn't see how badly he was hurt. Basil next to him, idly wrapping his arm. Cinder was also there, red aura flickering around her body.

The only thing Qrow could do was watch as the airship took his son away.

* * *

Only ten minutes ago, Yang had been disappointed but proud of her sister even though she lost the match. She had been proud of Blake being comfortable showing the world she was a Faunus, a fact she had been hiding for so long.

Now…

Yang couldn't describe her mood. She was just numb. She was getting questions, but she just shook her head. Ignoring them.

Ruby and Emerald were curled up next to each other. Yang should be a little worried about them falling. They hadn't moved since they sat down there. Dad was with them now. Yang was struggling to join them.

After all, she was the older sister. It was her job to look after them. With him, she always fell short.

She hadn't even noticed he left the audience.

"Hey firecracker."

"Hi Uncle Qrow." Yang didn't turn around. She picked up Zwei, who gave her a lick on the cheek. She didn't really feel it.

Uncle Qrow barely touched her shoulder. She turned around and buried herself into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Gently rubbed her back.

He didn't say anything.

There wasn't anything to say.

Yang had lost her little brother.

The spark inside her was willing to do anything to get him back.

The ash inside her was arguing that she had lost him forever.

* * *

"Hazel. Is there any news before their return?"

"Tyrian's mission was successful. Pepper's mission was not completed and she was somehow noticed while she was still invisible. She describes a dragon like creature that I cannot find anywhere in previous record. I have a hunch and will confirm or refute it when Cinder returns. Cinder's mission was also a success, but we did lose three in the process."

"That is a very satisfactory result. We expected Pepper to be discovered, but not so soon. A pity. She did manage to regroup?"

"She did. She's with her sister now."

"Very good. Who did we lose?"

"Basil is the only surviving member of team Rainbow. If they guess, we cannot rely on Basil for conspicuous jobs."

"Perhaps. That will also depend on who they tell. However, he will be kept busy. When will the machine be ready?"

"It is estimated between 25 and 35 days. There was more damage from neglect than they thought."

"I see. I would like the boy brought before me first. I am quite curious. It may also be a good opportunity for that potion Cinder kept."

"Understood."

* * *

The morning after the final match, Marcus' knife and Mercury's cufflink arrived in the post to Headmaster Ozpin's office.


	7. Holding Onto the Ghosts

**In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Twenty seven days since the end of the Vytal Festival.

Qrow stepped through the rubble, casting an alert eye around the ruined town. He had seen many, but there was something different about this one.

One look and he knew bandits weren't to blame. He was also quite sure Grimm weren't either, not even the one that had been terrorizing Anima for quite some time. Amber was currently on the hunt for that.

The question remained: what did this?

Qrow studied the destroyed buildings. He couldn't see marks, so it didn't seem to be a forged weapon. It was almost as if something huge had crashed into it.

The reason Qrow didn't think this was a Grimm attack was that Grimm tend to attack the people, not the buildings. Most of the people here had been crushed under rubble. Very few had died of injuries that resulted from a fight. Those didn't have any claw marks on them. Blunt force trauma was Qrow's guess.

Xie-Xie was a small village, but it was one of the few which was in constant contact to both Mistral and Vale. Communications from them had ended abruptly two days ago. The last message they had sent was short: 'There's something in the sky'.

 _Airships don't usually come this way. Even if they did, they would recognise it as one, unless it was one that wasn't registered. It is also possible that it was a creature._

Qrow did know about what slept in the mountain. The village would most likely be overrun with all kinds of Grimm if that was responsible. So it most likely wasn't.

The Grimm dragon he was more familiar with lived in the sea and Xie-Xie was nowhere near a coast. It could have flown this far, but Qrow was very sure he would have heard about it if it had. It would have passed a lot of places and there was no record of it.

He dropped the line of thought quickly once he was satisfied it wasn't involved.

That led him back to wondering what was.

Something caught his eye.

Qrow walked over and studied a body he had previously overlooked. This man had been killed by an arrow. He pulled it out and had a look. Most of their defenders didn't have their aura unlocked, but they all used the same resources when creating their bow and arrows. This had been shot by one of their own.

 _Friendly fire._

He glanced around, but didn't see anyone suitable to be the accidental culprit. It was possible the arrow had been fired into the air and this one had been unlucky enough to be standing in its path. The arrow was angled downwards. If that was so, he was the unluckiest guy on the planet.

 _From the angle he was hit, the shot must have come from…_

Qrow headed around the buildings (two were still standing) and found another group of people. They too looked like they had been crushed to death. No claw marks or weapon marks. Just bruises and small cuts from the environment.

 _They were all fighting the same thing, not a group of things. There are no footprints or anything and it's been raining here for the past few days. Today as well actually. That doesn't make any sense. What the hell happened here?_

The lack of any trail was what bothered Qrow the most. Nevermores couldn't do this damage and he didn't think even an ancient Griffon could. There was also no blood on any of the arrows that looked like they had hit something. That suggested what they were fighting was a result of technology.

Qrow sighed.

He had expected it to be simple: bandits or Grimm. This sort of thing happened all the time; that was the sad reality.

This was a part of reality Qrow had never seen before.

Another hour and Qrow was satisfied he wasn't going to find any new clues. Whatever did this left no biological traces behind, so it almost certainly wasn't something alive. Was it some kind of war machine? Ironwood had never been clear exactly what had been stolen from Atlas and Qrow was very doubtful it was only the transfer machine eleven years ago.

After all, he had been determined that there was no way to hack into his system and Qrow just _knew_ that it wasn't a coincidence there was a 'glitch' in his machines that night. There was also the fact that the ones in-

Qrow sighed again, his fingers unconsciously rubbing against the ring he had been given that Christmas. The good luck charm.

Then he turned and started back to Beacon. He might be home in Patch by sunset.

* * *

Ozpin waited for Qrow to leave for home before he returned to what he had been looking at before.

The floor plans for LiaGuard.

LiaGuard had been taken over that final night of the Vytal Festival. Interestingly enough, the only crime that had gone up recently was kidnapping, despite there was almost certainly more murderers running around. Beacon had been left alone that night, save for Pepper's appearance. Ozpin was in agreement with Qrow; she was only there so that they wouldn't get too suspicious if nothing happened.

This was where the disagreements started.

James thought that taking Mercury was a crime of opportunity. Qrow disagreed, pointing out that killing Mercury would have been better as it was clear he had no qualms about killing them when he felt his life was in peril. Ozpin agreed with them both; it would have been remarkably difficult for them to get Mercury into Vale on his own that night but they had had a plan in mind for it, suggesting they had had a plan of their own to manage it.

What interested and worried Ozpin was the reason why they had been insistent on capturing Mercury alive.

There was something Qrow was sure of: Mercury was in LiaGuard. His reason was that, while Ruby and Emerald sensed he was alive, they couldn't tell his direction anymore and that would suggest he wasn't running on the same timeline mentally, even if he was biologically. Only LiaGuard had that technology. If that were true, then nothing short of retaking the prison was going to get him out, provided he survived that long.

This brought Ozpin's attention to the plans.

The 'time cell' as it had been dubbed was on the lowest floor, deep underground. It had originally been a tunnel that had collapsed at some point in history and had been converted into a room. When LiaGuard was built, it became a prison cell. The simulator (possible pocket dimension somehow) was something Ozpin did not know the history to; only that no matter how much time was spent inside, a week in reality had passed.

This was not the problem.

The main problem was the prison's defences themselves. A quick recon had shown the Atlesian Knights there were still functional. Whatever had happened in Vale had not been an isolated incident. There was also the fact that the force field was still fully functional along with the jammers. Only ships that had been cleared from with the prison itself could even approach; one button press and their instruments failed, plummeting to a certain death whether or not the aura was unlocked. The force field itself would hold against incredibly powerful Grimm; even the one that slept in the mountain wouldn't manage it.

The issue was that they needed more information. From this, there was no way to manage it.

Retaking LiaGuard was a necessity, but there was an essence of 'closing the barn door after the horse escaped'. The main reason for the security was the inmates, who were almost certainly free to continue where they left off. The worst of the worst.

However, LiaGuard would also be good for their base of operations and the time cell and time simulator were invaluable. They should have listened to Qrow and destroyed the simulator when they had the chance. While the time cell was devastating, it was a single, rather small room. The simulator was exactly that: one could programme scenarios into it which included a much larger area to work with. It was almost exactly like designing a game.

Was this connected to what happened to Xie-Xie? Qrow was certain it was a weapon and not Grimm responsible. Had it been something they built?

If so, they needed to stop it.

For the moment, Ozpin couldn't find a flaw in the defences. Even James agreed that a full frontal assault would result in huge casualties for them and wouldn't gain any advancement. He had suggested that, if they could get to the control room, he could insert a spike that would shut down the Knights, but getting to that room was looking impossible. Merely getting into the prison was the main issue.

They needed more information. Unfortunately, much of their records on the prison had been wiped and this was all they could salvage.

They had needed to shut down the CCTS for two days to eliminate the virus completely.

The prisoners needed to be recaptured, but very few would remain in LiaGuard at the moment even with the new power dynamic. Given the recent kidnappings from all four Kingdoms, it would seem something else was in mind. Most likely, not all of them were connected, but it was a good guess to think most were. However, there was no clear link between them.

Weapons testing perhaps?

Ozpin sighed.

The Vytal Festival was officially a success.

In Ozpin's mind, it was not. Many criminals were once again a threat to the public. James had never found the 'glitch' in his machines, even if a virus had been found in Vale's CCTS. One had been taken that night and would not be treated kindly.

No. They may have averted the very original plan of destroying Beacon, but when had that plan really changed? That night had not been a victory.

It was the end of the year, so most had gone home for two months. There were a few exceptions. Most students did not know about the bad things that happened that night, but Ozpin's heart was with the students that did.

He would not be surprised if he was missing a few students next year.

* * *

Qrow was drenched when he arrived home. He barely noticed.

Tai did. "You're having a shower before you get your dinner."

Qrow scoffed. "Good to see you too Tai." He did drag himself into the shower and warmer clothes before heading back downstairs. The three girls were in the living room. One was the most concerning. "What you up to, Mint?"

Emerald was idly studying the flame in her hand. "I was wondering if I wanted to test how 'flammable resistant' the couch really was."

"Make a note of your results, then you're buying the replacement." He was sure one wasn't needed; if Ruby and Yang had never accidentally set fire to that couch during their pranks, he didn't think it was possible.

Ruby was lying on the floor in her pyjamas, hair still wet from a shower or bath. She was trying to read what looked like a music sheet, but upside down. Yang was next to her, leaning over the same piece of paper, only this time right side up.

"Qrow."

Deciding not to ask them at the moment, Qrow headed into the kitchen. Tai had made them shepherd's pie (or cottage, Qrow didn't know the difference) and he obviously hadn't eaten with the girls. He had also shut the door, so it was 'adult talk'.

"Thanks. They're probably listening at the door, you know," Qrow pointed out as he started.

"Probably," Tai agreed. He was just as not enthusiastic about his meal as Qrow. "Nothing?"

"Place is a fortress Tai. It's going to be a while. The virus has been dealt with at least. For us anyway. Jimmy might have more of a problem with it."

"So what was the job today?"

"Looking into a town that had gone quiet. Know Xie-Xie?" Tai nodded. "No idea what happened, but it's gone."

"…Not bandits?"

"Definitely not."

Tai was relieved to hear that. Qrow had been relieved to see it as well, even if it ultimately meant nothing.

"I'm going to have to tell her one day. But not any day soon."

"I didn't see anyone Tai. Oz has put that information on a need-to-know with no one needing to know, password included. Unless they come to Patch to ask those questions, they won't find out."

That was one worry. Mercury knew who had the rest of the Spring Maiden's power and where she lived. Would he willingly tell them? No. Could he be forced to tell them? Possibly. Probably. They didn't know exactly what was happening to him, but they could guess and it wasn't that they were treating him to tea and cookies. There were some things that couldn't be endured by anyone.

There was a very, very good chance he wouldn't be Mercury anymore by the time they rescued him, if they did at all.

Qrow threw those thoughts out of his head and waited a few seconds before trying to get back to his meal. Starving himself wouldn't do anything.

Only last night, Ruby and Emerald had woke up screaming.

"So why do Ruby and Yang have a music sheet?"

"Yang has decided to take up an instrument."

"Drum or electric guitar?"

"Neither, believe it or not." Tai laughed at Qrow's bewildered look. "Yeah, my response too. Ever heard of a kalimba?"

"No. Sounds like something they would try to pass off in Scrabble."

"After 'addictionary'."

Qrow still chuckled at that. "Exactly. So what's a kalimba?"

"A musical instrument." Tai shrugged at Qrow's flat look. "Yeah, I didn't know either. I've no idea where she heard of it."

"She after a tutor?"

"Nope. Wants to learn it all on her own."

"Ambitious," Qrow muttered. "Good luck to her. Ruby's interest?"

"The picture was pretty. She's not interested in learning anything herself."

"No, she's going to make a robot of doom that is constantly going to break the oven and steal every sweet thing in the house. And it's going to be painted red with pink polka dots."

"…I was with you until you said 'pink'."

"Fine. Black or grey polka dots."

"Better."

Qrow leaned back as his empty dish stared up at him. "Any plans for tomorrow?"

"The girls wanted to head to Beacon to see their friends. I don't see a valid reason not to let them."

"And the fact they'll sneak off regardless." Emerald's Semblance was remarkably helpful in that manner, especially as she could replicate the sense of touch.

"And that."

Qrow shook his head with a slight smile. He did make a note to follow them in crow form and only show himself if someone came looking for Emerald. Otherwise, he would leave them be.

They did still need their friends and some independence from their guardians.

That night, Qrow learned that a kalimba was apparently a block of wood with metal keys that almost fit in one hand and it was played like a piano or keyboard, only using the thumbs. She obviously had no idea what she was doing, but she had already found a nice little tune by merely experimenting.

With practice and patience, Yang would become very good.

The music was…calming. Soothing.

Somehow, Qrow wasn't surprised to find it would soon become a lullaby for Ruby and Emerald.

* * *

Normally, the holidays were a break for the teachers. There were always students that stayed, mostly ones that had nowhere else to go, but for the most part it was free of responsibility.

Glynda was both relieved and annoyed when she saw someone had decided to redecorate her classroom with banners, baubles and a disco ball. Relieved that the first years (soon to be second years) were still willing to pull pranks and annoyed that they picked her classroom.

 _At least they didn't paint it. I would make them take it off with a chisel and repaint it back._

On a second look, it was determined the banners were a scoring board, which constantly changed colours. Because of course Dust powered runes worked just as well on Remnant as they did on Earth.

 _Well, it is obvious that only Ren or Mercury could be responsible for it, so it isn't hard to find the culprit._

Next time she saw Ren, she would point out that Dust prices were still very high and caution him what to use his runes on. Along with making him tidy up her classroom.

The first one of the group she ran into was Weiss. She was troubled.

"Is something the matter Weiss?"

Weiss was startled; obviously not hearing Glynda approach. "It's…just news from home. Nothing more."

Glynda suspected she had wished to say it was nothing, but missing her had removed that option. So she said only a part of it. There had been an angry message from Jacques Schnee, but Winter said there hadn't been a valid reason for Weiss to return home after the school year. Professor Ozpin had listened to Weiss' wishes.

"Anything you would like help with?"

Weiss bit her lip. "Well…It's just that my brother's gone missing so…Well, if something bad did happen to him, could you tell me first? I'm expecting to hear 'he's fine' any day now but this has never happened before."

"I will," Glynda promised. If it wasn't for Mercury or the growing missing person's list, Glynda was doubtful kidnapping would enter Weiss' mind. "Is everything else okay?"

"Save for Remedy switching my sheets for ones with puppies on, fine. On the other hand, I have no interest in returning them or paying for them."

Glynda smiled before hearing something very familiar from outside. She sighed, very glad she wasn't responsible for them at the moment. She did wish Bartholomew luck.

Weiss groaned. "Where did they get fireworks from?"

Glynda's question was more along the lines of 'why now and not when it was dark' when she knew they were staying the night at Beacon. She decided she didn't want to know. They weren't her responsibility at the moment unless they were in actual danger.

Then the attacker would be facing the wrath of Beacon.

"That is one of the questions not to ask Weiss. Either they are not going to give you the answer or you won't want to know it when you do."

Weiss nodded with a smile. "Much easier that way." The smile faded. "I haven't asked them and I understand if it's a matter of confidentiality, but are the three of them returning next year?"

Glynda glanced out the window. The next fireworks were green. "I can't tell you Weiss. I honestly don't know."

RMEY, ZBRN and JWMP. Every student in the school had at least heard of them and they were very popular among all the years. It could be argued that came from RMEY and JWMP's original friendship.

While the teachers may complain about their antics in front of them, in teacher meetings there were unofficial bets involved and they enjoyed it as much as the students did. Unless they did something very irresponsible, but so far they hadn't. It was harmless fun and they usually acquiesced to cleaning it up.

Fireworks alone was quite…tame.

Still, no doubt the headaches would continue once term started again. Apparently, only STRQ had been as big as troublemakers.

* * *

Two days later, Amber returned to Beacon.

"It's been dealt with," she reported as she rubbed her head. It certainly hadn't been easy; for something that had been causing terror for many years, it was quite difficult to track down.

"Thank you," Ozpin responded. "Are you okay?"

"I didn't see anyone. I don't think I'm on their list until they get Spring. Has anything happened?"

"Nothing," Qrow commented. He looked tired. "If they know, they're not acting. So they don't know."

Amber sighed. "Qrow, the most likely thing that happened is that he's dead. You need to accept that."

"He's alive."

They had had this argument before she left to track down that half human, half horse Grimm. She had learned not to get in the way of a parent and their kid, especially with this family, but deluding himself was going to end badly for everyone.

Amber had seen delusion. She wasn't about to let it happen to someone else, especially a friend.

"Qrow, I understand you're attached to him. But even I know him well enough to know he's not going to cooperate with them. They've killed him. That's all there is to it. I'm sorry Qrow. I really am. You need to let him go."

"He's alive Amber. I know he is."

This was like talking to a brick wall. She wanted to get frustrated, but the last time she did…

Instead she took a deep breath. "Why do you say that Qrow? What makes you so certain?"

Amber was expecting something similar to a tantrum. She expected stubbornness and fury. She expected shouting.

"I have better basis than a gut feeling. Let's leave it at that."

"Like an Animin bond or something like that?"

Qrow flinched. Ozpin sat up straighter.

Amber narrowed her eyes. She had thrown that out there to show how ridiculous he was being. It was a fictional thing from a storybook she had read when she was a teenager. Three storybooks actually.

 _Is that the answer? Surely not…_

"Is there such a thing?"

Qrow hesitated. Then he sighed. "Yeah."

Then the pieces clicked together. She hadn't thought about it at the time, but Hogwarts was a huge castle with countless options. How then did Ruby find Mercury so quickly when he was off with one of the others?

"There's one between Ruby and Mercury isn't there? That's why you're so sure. That's why you took him in." Qrow _had_ had a genuine reason for it. Not just blind faith.

"…Not just between Ruby and Mercury, Amber."

During that fight, whenever the two dodged, they always went the same way: west. Mercury caught himself a few times, but it was obvious is wasn't a feint. It had made hitting them a lot easier as she could predict where they were going. It had never struck her as odd, though it certainly made sense now.

"All four of them?" She should have kept her mouth shut.

Qrow chuckled. "No. Just Ruby, Emerald and Mercury. But yeah, that's why I took them in. I made that call as an uncle, not a Huntsman. For that, I apologise."

Ozpin remained silent.

Amber thought about it. Yes she had been angry. Then again, if his niece's life was at stake…

Then her response depended on one more question.

"When did you start _trusting_ them?"

"Two months later." He hesitated before continuing. "I told you Cinder put a Grimm mark on him. It was in those five days he was gone that Emerald got the rest of Spring. She couldn't go back. Then when we find Mercury more dead than alive and we find out why." Qrow laughed. It wasn't a pleasant one. "The stupid idiot did the one thing that should have got him killed. If it wasn't for the idea of turning him…He would."

"He refused." Amber remembered Qrow telling her that. She hadn't believed him until she saw what Mercury was willing to go through to remove it. It was why she believed he now refused to cooperate. At least not willingly.

"That's when."

Amber nodded. She had already made her decision but…Somehow, this was _much_ easier.

"Then I can forgive you for that." She could understand family first. "...If I had killed them that day, would Ruby have died too? Even though they had never met her?"

"Yes," Ozpin murmured. He had known. That was why he had entertained Qrow in the first place. "She would have done and no one would have known why."

Amber was really beginning to hate stories now. She made mental note to never read a book again.

"Then I'm sorry Qrow."

He nodded an acceptance.

Ozpin cleared his throat. "I've contacted a lot of people, but there's no explanation for what happened to Xie-Xie. If it was a Grimm, then I can think of only a few and there would be obvious signs."

"Such as?" Amber asked.

"The one that sleeps in the mountain summons Grimm from elsewhere. The entire village should be overrun. Also, the one in the sea would have attacked other villages closer to shore first." At her confused look, he smiled slightly. "An eastern and western dragon from Earth was not far off."

"Don't suppose the sea dragon looks like Talaria?" she asked.

"Exactly. It is the other one that is more problematic. If the public find out the truth about that, then we need to deal with it when it immediately appears."

"It's that bad?"

"It's worse," Qrow muttered bitterly. "One of those secrets that _will_ cause a panic if people knew about it. Almost instantly."

"Wouldn't it be easier for me to deal with it then?"

Ozpin shook his head. "It is nothing against your abilities Amber, but it is currently asleep in every meaning of the word. Attacking it would wake it and it is likely to head to the nearest population."

"And a good number of people would die," Amber finished. She could understand and agree with that. As much as she didn't like what she heard, she was going to leave it for now. "What if it was both me and Emerald?"

"No." Qrow answered fast.

Ozpin tilted his head. "At the very least, not until she has all of it. Then we'll ask her."

That was what Amber meant. If there were two of them, there was a better chance of dealing with it before it left. She had no interest in innocents getting involved. Emerald had lost all right to complain when she attacked her. It wasn't like Qrow was leaving her alone with her anyway, so there was another fighter.

"No luck on LiaGuard?" Qrow cut in.

Amber gave him a sympathetic look, but her argument was still the same. Qrow tilted his head sadly, before nodding to show her he understood her point before turning back to Ozpin.

"Nothing Qrow. I promise, you'll be the first to know."

"Right. Yeah, thanks. Need me for anything else?"

"No," Amber replied. "Go home Qrow."

"Giving orders now Amber?"

"I can throw you out the window if you want."

He threw his hands up and left. There was a small smile on his face though.

Amber turned back to Ozpin. "We can add three more to the missing list. Do you think they're responsible?"

Ozpin was quiet for a few moments. "The timing is too convenient. On top of that, these were murderers, rapists and thieves as well as kidnappers. It doesn't fit that kidnapping is the only crime that has increased."

That didn't make sense to Amber either. She didn't have the insight that the others did, but common sense said that they would pick up right where they left off.

"Can I just say I'm against this prison?"

"So was Qrow," Ozpin sighed. "He was of the opinion that some crimes couldn't be forgiven and it was…well I won't use his adjective, to keep them alive. It was too dangerous for everyone else."

"What's your stance now?"

"That General Ironwood doesn't have the weapons necessary to destroy it. However…I am inclined to agree LiaGuard was a bad idea."

A prison island in the middle of nowhere wasn't a bad idea. It was the fact they lost control over it that was the problem. "So what happens afterwards?"

"That will have to be discussed when we have it. However, I find myself in agreement with Qrow. At least, with the time simulator."

"Yeah, that was asking for trouble." There were a lot of good things that it could be used for, but the potential for abuse far outweighed that. "Why kidnap though? If they wanted to cause a panic, they could have focused more on the Vytal Festival or made LiaGuard public."

"I have no answer for that Amber. Kidnapping is usually followed by ransom, but not on this scale and there have been no ransom demands."

Amber had a good feeling they didn't want to know what was happening.

When she left, Qrow was leaning against the tower. She stopped, slightly surprised to see he had stuck around.

"Who did you lose?"

He had been honest with her. She had moved on.

"My mother. I came back from graduating from Haven and I was…blind to it. My mother had been in poor health. It hadn't been easy to get from Haven to home, so I didn't really try. I regret that now. On top of that, we had never really gotten along, not since my father…When I came home, I saw her with a baby. A dead baby; her stillborn. She didn't believe he was dead. She didn't listen to anyone. Not even me."

Amber hadn't been supportive at the time. She had been disgusted. Now, she pitied. She had distanced herself even more from her mother, focused on helping everyone else. She had given up on her.

"She died when the Grimm came and she stayed back to protect that child." A child that had never been alive. "I was away at a friend's at the time." She had buried her mother and that stillborn in the same grave. That baby had been the death of her, but there was no doubt she loved him.

"I'm sorry."

"Reality happens Qrow. But don't make the same mistake she did and don't let your family make that mistake either. It ends in heartbreak for everyone."

Amber headed back to Vale. Right now, she wanted something mindless to just forget the day.


	8. Behind the Scenes

**In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

The next village was destroyed two days later. Qrow asked his friend Gyro to investigate. It was too far away from Patch for him.

The results were the same. However, there was one oddity. A few little towns and villages in-between had seen something in the sky, but it had left them be and they didn't want to draw its attention. They hadn't gotten a good look though, so it was unknown if they were dealing with a machine or a very odd Grimm.

Whatever it was, it was huge and appeared to be heading north. For some reason, it was attacking some villages and not others. Why?

Qrow wanted a picture of it the most.

However, there had been one murder in Coldhedge that he had been asked personally for. Investigating the body in morgue showed two things. One: they had the wounds from a Grimm. Two: this individual had been found in a back alley and no Grimm perfectly matched the wounds.

Qrow really didn't need this.

His first stop was where the body was found. Claw marks were deep in a wall, but they were too small to belong to a Beowulf. Someone would have also noticed a Beowulf this far into the city and they were well known. The kid from the Vytal Festival that had those gauntlet claws had an alibi and wasn't even on the continent.

 _Of course it wouldn't be that easy._

Qrow ducked and flipped to the side.

The claw was imbedded in the wall.

 _Well, finding it was easy. Looks humanish, but I need more light. Could be anything._

Goading it into the light was very easy. It had locked onto Qrow as a target and it wasn't shifting just because it wasn't in the shadows anymore. It instantly leapt up and made another dive bomb.

 _So. That's a human Grimm._

The picture had been very accurate. The mask over its eyes was identical to the head of a Grimm. It didn't have hands, but claws. Claws that were small enough to cause the slashes on the body and would make very quick work of Qrow's aura if he wasn't careful. The fact it could fly was a little difficult.

Qrow's immediate reaction was pity. There was a human/Faunus in there somewhere. He could barely see it. There was no way Qrow could help him other than putting him out of his misery.

It attacked like a rabid animal. There was no logic behind it. It did have the intelligence to adapt, realising quickly that if Qrow's sword changed angle, then a long range shot was coming. However, it had no idea how to handle being attacked at all. The dodges were clumsy, clearly due to instinct and no practice.

 _I wonder if he had trained at all when he was free…_

In a feint that very nearly took its head off, its right claw swiped hard at a very unnatural angle and crashed into the sword itself. The force had it clattering to the floor.

All caution was thrown into the wind as it dashed forward.

Qrow sidestepped and drove the knife deep into the creature's skull. It didn't move and the red eyes dulled.

Silver Dust. A core weakness of human Grimm.

Qrow studied the knife for a moment before wiping it and sheathing it. The cufflink was with the girls, but Qrow kept the knife. He planned to use it to kill Ginger or Pepper or Cinder. Whichever he came across.

 _So. A human Grimm. If I can find out who this was, maybe I track down their family and tell them he's not coming home._

Qrow wasn't hopeful about that, but it was the best he could do.

* * *

Talaria found humans odd. They often did things for no reason and often their actions were against their survival. The fluffy creature that answered to Zwei agreed.

The Pack had been slow since Mother Fledgling disappeared. Talaria didn't understand why they did not go and bring him back to the Nest, where he was safe. They were sure he was injured now and the Nest was safe. Beta Mother said that they couldn't.

Talaria did know the difference between their words of 'can't', 'shouldn't' and 'won't'. If the Pack couldn't help Mother Fledgling, then Talaria would be very protective of the rest of the Pack.

The territory of 'Beacon' was somewhere the Pack were happy to refer to as a nest. Not their Nest but a nest. Safe for fledglings and hatchlings to play. There were many full grown to watch over them that Beta Mother and Alpha Mother 'trusted'. Talaria recognised two by sight, scent and hearing. They were the Alpha and Beta of Beacon. They would protect her Pack.

Hatchlings could be stupid and do things that could get them killed. They learned as they grew. That was why full grown and powerful watched over them. Talaria did not think that leaving the Beacon nest was a good idea.

She thought that leaving the neutral area of the large buildings was an even worse idea, especially as Silver Eyed Hatchling was alone except for Talaria. Time would pass when the hatchling called for help and the Pack arrived. She would be much happier if the Nestmates were together.

Talaria growled and snapped so the silly hatchling would understand.

{Should not be alone.}

"Not for long, I promise. I just want to get some sap for Dad's cooking."

Talaria thought about that, but the main part was the hatchling was alone with no full grown and powerful to protect her. Talaria was not as protected in this territory as the one she was born in and the threats were greater. Mother Fledgling had made sure she knew that.

There was also food in the Nest. There was no need to risk the Pack to get more.

{Go back to the Pack.}

"In a minute."

A minute for these Nestmates was not Beta Mother's or Alpha Mother's idea of a minute. Talaria agreed with them and not the Nestmates.

Talaria growled. {Go back to the Pack.}

"You're as bad as Dad. It'll only be minute."

Alpha Mother was right. Alpha Mother was usually right but he was definitely right about this. He was not going to be happy to hear about this.

In humans, both males and females helped raise the hatchlings. These nestmates should be more protected than any 'Vipertooth' hatchling, who only had the female. They had Beta Mother and Alpha Mother. Both were very powerful.

This stupid hatchling wasn't protected save for Talaria and this territory wasn't safe.

Talaria could hear something. It sounded like one of their flying metal. 'Airships' the Gold Haired hatchling said. Talaria looked up, but could not see it. Trees were closer.

"Mercury's feeling a little better," Silver Eyed Hatchling mumbled. "He'll be okay."

{Mother would not want you away from the Pack.} Mother Fledgling looked after his mates and Packmates. He would not want any alone. Especially this hatchling as she was not as cautious as the others.

"…I know."

Talaria had known three of the Nestmates could tell a little about the others. She thought it was good for their protection. They knew that Mother Fledgling was alive, but badly hurt. He had been dying painfully when their rest had been greatly disturbed a few sunsets ago and Talaria was happy he was better.

Beta Mother and Alpha Mother were very worried for him. His Nestmates were very worried for him. Talaria was worried for him.

{Mother is very strong.} Humans used 'strong' for many things. For Talaria, he was strong for all of them.

"Yeah, he is. He'll be okay when I see him again. I know it." Silver Eye Hatchling placed a cover over the carrier for the food. "Well, time to go back."

Good. Hatchling had been out alone for too long. Why had the Nestmates allowed it?

Silver Eyed Hatchling stopped walking. She looked up. "Is there an airship nearby?"

{Go back to the Pack.} Talaria had heard it. She did not think the hatchling should investigate. Threats were everywhere.

Somehow, Talaria was not surprised when the Silver Eyed Hatchling went to investigate. Hatchlings were curious. Talaria clicked again, but she didn't listen.

"Only a look," she spoke quietly. "I promise."

Talaria knew what 'promise' was supposed to mean. So far, only Mother Fledgling had kept to all of them. It was not usually the other nestmates actions that resulted in them not doing what they 'promised'. Alpha Mother and Beta Mother didn't use that word.

Silver Eyed Hatchling was approached the 'airship' carefully. It was on the ground. They were downwind, so Talaria couldn't smell them well. She did not know if they were friend or foe, but the not-Pack were still at the Beacon nest.

These were a threat unless proven otherwise.

That one looked identical to the one that Talaria and Mother Fledgling drove away from Beacon territory that night he didn't return to the Pack. She was a Threat.

Silver Eyed Hatchling vanished. Red petals dropped to the floor.

If she were a hatchling also, Talaria would have flown straight after her. But she was not anymore. She was a Mother, not a hatchling. Those sunsets ago, this one or its nestmate Mother Fledgling had told her about had worked with a pack. Mother Fledgling had known the pack and who was in it. Their pack was good, but Mother Fledgling was better. This one might be with another pack.

Talaria flew up. She stayed close to her hatchling, but her ears and nose focused on others. She could smell others. A pack larger in number than hers. Including one she had smelt before many, many sunsets ago.

Mother Fledgling had been very cautious of that one. Beta Mother had been as well. They had been the strongest of the Pack then. They had had a live and let live pack agreement then. But only in that territory, not in this one.

When red flashed around Silver Eyed Hatchling, Talaria dove down, crashing into Threat. Talaria was not protected from this danger and one hit could kill her. She kept moving. She was too swift to hit.

Silver Eyed Hatchling didn't run. She picked up her weapon and attacked. Silly hatchling. This was why she was not yet a fledgling.

She hadn't called for the Pack. Talaria wished she had at least called for Green Haired Fledgling. She could do that anytime without metal 'communicator'. She would be smarter. She would know to flee back to a safe nest.

A crack and a scream.

Talaria snarled and bit down on the female. Her fangs were venomous, but she still had protection. Talaria needed to see a flash of colour before the venom could be used.

Silver Eyed Hatchling was struggling to move. Her leg was bent oddly under the 'joint'. She was trying to crawl away, whimpering slightly.

Talaria landed on her arm and continued to growl at the human responsible. This one didn't have the same scent as the one sunsets ago. This was the nestmate.

The Threat nodded at the female. She walked away, muttering something to a human with an odd face and prey ears and continued into the treeline.

Talaria knew the hatchling couldn't travel far or fast. She chittered gently to reassure her and nudged her back, telling her to move. If she didn't, she would die. The Threat would return.

The odd face and prey ears raised a weapon. Talaria shot forward and sank her teeth into his neck, tasting blood. She hit the perfect target, just where Mother Fledgling had shown her. He couldn't make a sound to alert the others. He was meat a few seconds after he hit the ground.

That scent again.

Talaria spun around and positioned herself to attack. It was difficult to focus on a good point. But there was a flash of red, so this one didn't have protection. It was the one Mother Fledgling and Beta Mother had been cautious of.

She did see Talaria. Fire in the hand. Green Haired Fledgling did that sometimes, but not where humans could see. Only Pack along with Beacon Alpha and Beacon Beta knew.

Fire was deadly.

"You understand Basic."

Talaria didn't listen to the words. She angled her wings, a second away from flight. Distract from the hatchling.

"Do you know the word 'heal'?"

Talaria did know that word. That was what Green Haired Fledgling wanted to do, but she wasn't strong enough yet. Without healing, Silver Eyed Hatchling would struggle to return to the Nest and Pack.

Pack did not 'trust' or 'like' this one.

"Leave me alone," Silver Eyed Hatchling tried to snarl. She was trying to crawl away. Fire started to surround her.

Talaria could fly through it. It was difficult to see or smell. Fire was deadly. She could still hear.

"That was not very well thought out. Did you think that through at all? I would have thought Mercury and Emerald would have taught you better."

Mother Fledgling and Green Haired Fledgling would _not_ be happy about this hatchling's and mate's behaviour. Fire One was right about that.

The wall of flame was high. Talaria took to the sky. Fire One was kneeling next to her, but her hand was on the hatchling's leg. She was trying to move away, but Talaria could hear whimpering.

"Shut up! Don't talk about them!"

"He is alive Ruby. I will even tell you he is sane and I think will remain so for some time to come. I recommend you don't think much on that and forget about him." Fire One stood up and backed away, so Talaria remained still. That leg looked right now. The fire vanished. "Leave and go back home."

The hatchling stood up. The leg was shaky for a Beta Mother second, but she could stand. She could walk. "I'm not leaving without Mercury."

"Mercury isn't here. You know that. You know where he is and he is not able to leave. I will not let you go again. Return home Ruby and stay out of things that are not your concern. Do not be this stupid again."

"Mercury _is_ my concern. Your whole plan is my concern."

Silver Eyed Hatchling was angry. She wasn't going to leave.

Talaria flew down and hovered in front of her. She snarled and pushed her head into her hard. The hatchling stumbled. She glared at Talaria. Talaria bared her teeth and pushed her again. Fire One was very powerful and had a large pack, along with Threat Nestmates. They needed to return to the safety of the Pack.

The hatchling understood. She turned back to Fire One, but Talaria pushed her again. Fire One wasn't attacking them now, but she might if they made her. She would kill them easily.

Silver Eyed Hatchling kept walking. "I _will_ get him back."

Fire One didn't respond. She watched them until they were out of sight before Talaria saw her return to the 'airship'. Threat had not returned. Talaria did not think she would let her prey go, but Fire One was the Alpha. Even over Threat Nestmates.

The Threat Nestmates may go against their Alpha's orders. Fire One had not ordered Threat to release the Silver Eyed Hatchling. Perhaps she would not obey.

Mother Fledgling had said that night the Threat Nestmates were very focused on him and his Nestmates. Especially his mates. He had been very worried.

Pack was not going to 'like' what the errant hatchling had done.

* * *

Emerald had met her in Vale City, obviously on her way to where she sensed Ruby was. She hugged Ruby and checked she was okay. Yang was only a few feet behind Emerald; her sister had never been able to beat her Emery in a race.

"Emerald-"

"We're going back home Ruby. Then you can explain to me why Talaria has blood on her jaws. And why your leg was broken only five minutes ago."

"It is a good reason," Ruby mumbled. So Em probably guessed it was Cinder.

"I'm sure."

Yang put her arm around Ruby's shoulders but she didn't say anything. She was angry, disappointed and…terrified.

 _Of course they're terrified. I should have told them where I was going before I just ran off. It was very heartless of me._

Honestly, Ruby didn't think she would be gone that long. She hadn't thought there would be anything unusual there. When she saw Ginger, she realised that the airship must be going to where they were keeping Mercury and had tried to sneak on board. She had been spotted far too quickly.

 _No…When we woke up…It was like my soul itself was so cold…What did they do to him?_

Ruby could sense that bond now. She still couldn't sense direction. She did for an hour or two a day. When she did, she could sense him doing what she had done in the Vytal Festival to try and get him to talk to them. There was a slight push (' _stay away'_ ), but also that nudge. She did the same for him, as did Em. Not the push though, but a pull (' _want you home_ '). Maybe it was a comfort to him.

Ruby hoped so.

Cinder didn't say he was okay. His Gems knew he wasn't and where he was-

Ruby stopped. Yang stopped with her.

"Ruby. We're going home."

Ruby nodded. "I-I need to talk to Uncle Qrow."

"He's going to be in line to yell at you. After Dad."

"I think she knows. About…About us three. I mean…Not just dating but the other thing."

Emerald stopped there and glanced back. She hesitated; torn. With a sigh, she stopped ignoring Ruby and easily joined the hug. Yang and Em shared a look over Ruby's head.

"Let's just get home," Em muttered.

Uncle Qrow appeared just before they reached the dock. He took one look at them and his eyes became hard. His playfulness dropped instantly. "What happened?"

Ruby flinched.

"Home," Emerald responded. "And Ruby's grounded for the foreseeable future."

Ruby very much doubted she would ever _not_ be grounded after today.

"At least," Yang added.

"That bad?" Uncle Qrow asked as he hopped on the boat and started checking things.

"As badly thought out as me after our mom died."

Uncle Qrow immediately spun around. He jumped off the boat and gave them a steady stare before he hugged them. Ruby felt his aura focus on hers and told him she was okay. No doubt the others were doing the same.

"At least grounded," Uncle Qrow agreed. "Come on then. No one's given your dad a heart attack for six days."

The last time was when Em and Ruby woke up screaming. A chill went through Ruby before fading. Em winced next to her, clearly remembering.

Dad didn't yell. He let Ruby tell the story. Yang's eyes flashed between red and purple. Ruby wouldn't be surprised if that anger was aimed at her and not her actions. She was angry at herself. She had been very stupid.

Then it was quiet. Only quiet.

Then…

"Go to bed Ruby."

Ruby didn't argue with her dad. She stood up and walked up to her room. The three were sharing one now. Dad hadn't said anything about her and Em sharing a bed. Maybe he was relieved that all three girls would fit in the same room.

 _I'm sorry. I know you're all disappointed in me. I deserve it._

It was still bright out.

Ruby closed the curtains and got changed. She was going to go to sleep and she didn't care when she woke up.

Zwei was on Yang's bed. He barked and hopped over to her. She petted him gently.

Ruby hadn't gotten aboard the airship. There was the chance she would have been spotted while on it as well. It had been stupid and careless but…she really wanted to see him. She wanted him to be home, safe and well. She knew he wasn't either. Staying here and doing nothing…

Ruby had seen an opportunity and tried to take it. It could have ended so much worse.

Things would be better tomorrow.

/

Emerald and Yang didn't stay long after Ruby's dismissal. They retreated to the spare bedroom. They were just as angry at Ruby's actions as they were disappointed. No doubt they would be back with her to sleep though.

Tai sighed and looked at Qrow, who hadn't moved from the kitchen table.

"Not your fault Qrow."

"You seem to say that a lot." He growled. "The _one_ day Tai. The one day I'm not there."

"A human Grimm is a fair reason Qrow. The mistake was me not taking your place."

"When exactly did you gain the ability to turn into a crow?"

Tai guessed that if Qrow hadn't put such vicious testing into that good luck charm, he would be blaming his Semblance. At least he was getting over that insecurity. It didn't change the fact he had a point; the main reason they went to Beacon was for their friends there.

"At least Talaria was there," Tai murmured as he collapsed next to his brother in all but blood. "If she wasn't-" He couldn't finish.

Worse still, Talaria usually _wasn't_ with them.

Qrow nodded. "I'm thinking she's not allowed to go back to Beacon. Maybe not even for next year if she's going to be this…idiotic."

Tai was very doubtful that was the word Qrow wanted to use. It wasn't the one he was thinking of.

Still, school was a topic they had discussed before.

"If Cinder knows about the bond, Tai…and it does sound like she does…Then she probably knows the rest. About Emerald."

Mercury would never tell anyone about the bond willingly. So what else did they know?

"Then why didn't she use Ruby as bait? Emerald was on her way. Instead, she let her go. Why let her go?" It certainly wasn't a complaint, but it didn't fit Cinder at all. Ruby had even got a caution from her not to be so bloody stupid again. Tai rubbed his temples. "I would much rather have them _not_ return to Beacon. It's not that I don't trust Ozpin but…"

"I know what you mean." Qrow's fists were clenched. Then they relaxed as he calmed himself. "The human Grimm was one of those that had been kidnapped in recent months. There's probably going to be a lot more of them. I would feel much better if they were here."

"Wrapped in cotton wool," he agreed wholeheartedly. "But what about their friends?"

The one sticking point.

…

"We all want him home," Tai murmured. "I'll sit down with Ruby tonight and-"

"No," Qrow cut in. "Yang told me she would. She had been even more stupid when she was younger."

That was not something Tai cared to remember. "I'm still of the opinion we stick leashes on them and lock them in the house."

"No argument from me."

…

"…Do you think she was telling the truth? About Mercury being…?"

…

Both jumped when a scroll buzzed. A second went by as both realised it wasn't theirs, but Ruby's. Qrow picked it up and glanced at the message. Tai managed to see it before the screen went black.

Weiss: Everything okay? You didn't say goodbye

The adults shared a glance.

Ruby had been remarkably reckless. Her heart may have been in the right place, but it was almost certainly never going to work. They were all desperate to have him home, but he would be devastated if one of them ended up joining him in captivity. Sharing his pain would only make him feel worse.

Hopefully, Yang could get that through to Ruby.

There was a buzz on Qrow's scroll. He glanced at it. "It's from Oz. He says it's urgent and…"

"And?"

Qrow swallowed. He showed him the image that Ozpin had sent him.

"…No…"

/

Yang wasn't surprised to see Ruby curled up in bed, but not asleep. There were some days that you just wanted to be over.

Most of Yang's anger was gone. When Em's passed fully, she would be up here too. But Yang had asked for an hour with her sister alone first. Em had wished her luck.

 _Ruby isn't as bone-headed as me…But this isn't going to be an easy talk._

"I am sorry Yang."

"I know."

Yang cuddled up to Ruby. Ruby was happy to take it, but she was still curled into herself. She knew she had Screwed Up. Big Time.

"Do you remember when I went looking for my mom?"

"Not really. I just remember Uncle Qrow saving us and Dad being furious." She winced then, realising that that anger was now on her.

"They were angry because they were terrified for us." For good reason. Uncle Qrow had only been a few seconds away from their deaths. "But when I was old enough to really understand, I was afraid more for you than for me."

"Me…"

"It was one thing nearly getting myself killed Ruby. But you…I've never forgiven myself for that. I never will."

Ruby bit her lip. "I'm sorry Yang. I didn't think. Emery always want me to think as well as act."

Yang and Dad had known Ruby would get a scolding from Emery that day when she chased Torchwick out of the Dust shop and just watched the fight between Professor Goodwitch and Cinder. That was part of the reason they tried to keep her in a good mood.

Yang thought how to make this sound less blunt. Then again, maybe the shock would get through to her.

"Ruby. I know you want to help Mercury. But I don't think he would like it if you got hurt trying to help him."

"But…He's really bad Yang. I know it."

This was the main difference between the Gems and the rest of the family. It wasn't always at the front of their minds. They had a few minutes a day where they could just, as cruel as it sounded, forget. They forget that anything was wrong for a few minutes.

Ruby and Emerald couldn't. They could sense him. Not as well as they wanted to, but they couldn't forget. Never. They didn't just logically know he was in a bad way, they could sense he was in a bad way. Every single second. As bad as it was for Yang…She couldn't image what it was like for them.

 _Thank everything they can't sense details. They're probably regretting the problems during the tournament too. Desperate._

"Ruby, do you remember after Mountain Glenn? How Mercury responded to Emerald being…?"

Ruby's fingers curled around the quilt. "I remember," she mumbled.

"I know he would be happy that you want to help him because you love him Ruby. But he wouldn't be happy that you were hurt doing it. Especially if he was the reason."

"…It wouldn't be his fault."

"No, it wouldn't. It wouldn't feel that way to him." It would have been Grimm that killed Ruby, but Yang would have felt very responsible. After all, she had brought Ruby there. "He would be heartbroken."

Ruby pulled more into herself.

Yang gently tugged her closer. "Ruby, I know it's difficult. But-Don't do that to him. Don't put him in that position. He'll get through this and would be much better if he knew we were all safe."

"I-I know…It's just…"

"It's not fair," Yang murmured. "We all want Mercury home Ruby. He will come home. Just…Let's not make things worse for him. We don't talk about it Ruby, but…" Yang hated this. "He can take pain. He doesn't take us getting hurt well."

Ruby hadn't planned for anything like that. She had meant to sneak aboard, get him out and not fight at all. It had never entered her mind she would be hurt. That was the problem.

Only when Ginger actually started fighting her did Ruby come back to reality. Ginger had won easily and had obviously meant to take her too.

As much as she hated Cinder for everything she had done and was doing, Yang was very grateful for her healing Ruby and letting her go.

Yang remembered a sparring session where it was Ruby and Emerald against Mercury and Yang. He had missed Ruby's aura shattering because he was occupied with Em's illusions and had come near to actually hurting her. Only Yang's call had stopped an accident and he had obviously felt extremely guilty over it, making sure Ruby wasn't angry at him (he would have stayed away if she was) and tried to make it up to her.

Yang remembered pushing her Semblance beyond the brink, resulting in extreme exhaustion. It hadn't been Dad or Uncle Qrow who found her first, but Mercury. They didn't even know each other well back then; it had been a few days after Yang had thrown him out of the house after finding out his past. He hadn't said anything at the time, just picked her up and carried her home. He made a point to avoid her the next day; made sure they wouldn't have a stupid argument and just let her rest. Em and Merc had baked white chocolate chip cookies for everyone and Ruby had later told her it had been Merc's idea.

Yang remembered coming down in the middle of a night for the drink and seeing Merc and Dad at the table, talking about STRQ's old days. He had never asked about Summer or Raven, even though he must have been curious. After a house full of girls, Dad had probably liked a son.

Uncle Qrow had always been afraid his Semblance would hurt his family, so he stayed away from them. Mercury had given his family back to him. He had given the girls back their uncle. Uncle Qrow spent most of his time home now, unless he was called away for a good reason directly connected to Salem.

Ruby was crying into Yang's chest. Yang placed a kiss on her head and hugged her close.

"It'll be okay Ruby. We need to look after each other. That's the best thing we can do for him."

Emerald wasn't angry anymore when she entered. She was just relieved Ruby was okay.

[We're not leaving her alone again,] Emerald noted to Yang after Ruby had fallen asleep.

[Nope,] Yang agreed instantly. [Nor you.]

Emerald thought about it. [I can live with that. You're not leaving yourself out are you?]

[Hey, we're in this together.]

* * *

Glynda could tell the instant Qrow stepped into the office that he was very tense. This wasn't going to go well.

With General Ironwood physically here, Professor Ozpin had wanted Glynda there in case the conversation turned too ugly. They had had a bad argument during the tournament and they hadn't spoken at all since. James had left the day after the finals.

"It's not his." Qrow was quick to state that.

"Yes and no," Ozpin gently corrected. "Our current theory is that it is Mercury's aura, but he wasn't the one who created it."

They had identified the creature that was most likely responsible for the destruction of the villages. Much about it was still unknown, but it had flown into Atlas airspace and a fight had occurred, so they had some data.

It was a familiar silver colour, but it was the wrong Grimm dragon. This one had hind claws rather than front, was much bulkier and had a jaw that elongated past the head. It was the one that slept in the mountain.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"The aura machine," James stated. His voice was a little more unsure than it had been. "The one that was stolen eleven years ago. I'm not sure if it is possible, but it is only a theory. If they removed the aura from Mr Black, but didn't use a person as a destination…Perhaps an aura animal was created instead."

Qrow was quiet for a moment, clearly thinking over what it meant. This was a very strong reason why they took Mercury alive. He was one of the biggest threats to them, but if they could make his power work for them, it removed a dangerous enemy and gained a powerful asset.

"Wouldn't a machine that was over a decade old have quite a few kinks if it worked at all?" Qrow scowled. "Especially for something like…this?"

"It is a theory," James repeated. "It was a prototype even when it was stolen, so we had to start from scratch from the research notes." Glynda would have much preferred if he hadn't continued with this kind of research, but it wasn't her place to say. "I will see what I can find, but I don't think it will be much. The only other theory is that Mr Black did this willingly-"

"No."

"Exactly," Ozpin agreed. Qrow looked like he was ready to attack James. Glynda was very grateful they were having this chat with Qrow and not Taiyang. "Mercury is the only one known in history to have a Grimm aura animal. It is too much for coincidence. It is thought that the change of Grimm dragon is a result of his aura being forced out of him and not him creating it."

Qrow relaxed his muscles with difficulty, clearly thinking. "Maybe it was the trauma of its creation that made it aggressive."

That was the main problem they had. Why had it attacked some villages and not others? Mercury's own distaste and his previous encounters with James did somewhat explain why it attacked the Atlas fleet, but it didn't explain the damage it did to the closest cities. Mercury always focused on the guilty and, ironically enough, tended to protect the innocent from the fallout even if he didn't like them. He was a part of the STRQ family.

"What colour were the eyes?"

"The same as the rest of it," James answered, now sounding very sure of himself. "Also, while it adapted to battle, it wasn't planning ahead much, if at all. It showed the tactical awareness Mr Black has, but was not good at cognitive thinking."

"There is another fact Qrow," Ozpin started. "This suggests they will want to keep Mercury alive, but it is possible they will do it again. It took a lot of firepower to destroy this and none other than Atlas have it."

Qrow was quiet for a moment. "…Anything else?"

James glanced at Glynda, but Qrow's change in behaviour and sudden lack of interest in violence was something she couldn't explain. He had been very high strung when he showed up and Glynda wondered if that had something to do with Ruby vanishing without saying goodbye to her friends. If she was gone too, they would have heard about it by now.

"Not for the moment," James answered. He had come straight here after the battle.

"Then I'll let you know a likely time when we have another one on the loose." With those words, he disappeared into the lift.

It took a moment for James to realise what Qrow had said. He had had a long day. "Did he just say what I thought he did?"

"He did." Ozpin was quiet for a moment. He knew many of Qrow's secrets that Glynda didn't. "I don't know what he means, but I have a guess. If I am right, then it is a family matter and not my place to say."

James looked torn between demanding elaboration and caution for getting that family even angrier at him. After a few seconds, he settled for a compromise. "Is it a reliable method?"

"I would not say it was accurate, but it is reliable. I think we will have a brief respite as we found no evidence of a tracker or any way for them to measure the condition of the aura animal. That might buy us a few days. However, I think a replacement will appear soon enough."

"At least we're only dealing with one at a time," Glynda sighed. Only one aura animal could be created by an Aura Wielder at any time.

"Indeed." James rubbed his temples. "We are working on a weapon that can break through LiaGuard's shield. I'll make that the top priority. The previous works will be enough to destroy them, but it is going to be difficult to transport them. Especially as a good section of the weapons depot needs rebuilding, along with many civilian homes."

"Don't tell Qrow it _wasn't_ the top priority," Glynda warned. She understood that James had to look after his own and had his own problems. Their main concern was Mercury himself due to personal worry, not the damage they could use him for.

"I didn't plan to. Did I tell you that Tai took me to task for questioning him?" That definitely wouldn't have gone well. "It's not that I abandoned him, but there was an attack near the Dust mines two weeks ago. My resources are needed elsewhere."

"I understand that. They do too. While Qrow has been in this fight for a long time, his kids never had been until Emerald and Mercury came along. It's more difficult for him."

"The main reason I haven't settled down," James agreed. "I wouldn't want my family knowing anything I know. I'll check in on the weapons and you focus on the information we have gained and not yet used. We keep each other in the loop. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Ozpin nodded.

The General left. Glynda hoped he was going to get some rest.

"There's one main piece we need to decide about," Glynda pointed out.

Professor Ozpin sighed. "That the team claimed to come from Haven for a very good reason. We especially need to have a better idea as Haven is hosting the next tournament. This one may have officially gone smoothly, but that does not guarantee the next one will."

Officially.

They had lost one of their students that night. That student had been _Mercury._

Glynda focused on the present. "Have you consulted Professor Lionheart?"

"I spoke with him last week, but I didn't comment on the topic. I merely asked about Team Rainbow and didn't go any further."

"Why not? Surely he would know his students the best."

"I must say that James' paranoia has rubbed off on me a little. Leo told me that all of his second years were accounted for before he sent the paperwork. It seems odd in hindsight. I would prefer a different way to check Haven, but I don't want to offend him if it was an honest mistake."

"Are you sure that's not paranoia from the magical world?" They had had spies everywhere, but especially in high places. Lucius Malfoy and Igor Karkaroff had been Death Eaters and one was running the government unofficially while the other one was running a school.

Professor Ozpin smiled. "Also possible. However, blind trust was a problem there and I don't wish to make the same mistake. I trust Leo. I need a way to prove he's trustworthy."

The problem was that they were an official team, not an add-on.

"It's as simple as confirming if they were there all that time and we can ask some of the students that. I would have thought someone from Haven would notice if there was a team representing them that they had never seen before."

"Maybe."

Beacon started up again in less than a month.

Glynda had a lot of work to do. She just hoped she had her hands full just as much this year as she did last year, save for the Vytal Festival. She was happy they didn't have to deal with that this year.


	9. Family Feud

**AN: In no way am I connected to RWBY**

* * *

Ruby packed her final combat skirt into her suitcase. After a promise to never be so stupid again and to stick with at least two of her friends at all times, she was allowed to return to Beacon for her second year tomorrow. Yang and Emerald had the same restrictions.

She wanted to be happy.

But last night, she and Emerald had woken up cold inside again. But now, they knew why.

Even if he wasn't controlling it, Ruby wasn't afraid to run into this Grimm dragon (there was another one. Cool.) It was still his aura. Mercury, even in that state, wouldn't hurt her.

Ruby was tired of being the one that needed to be protected. She was going to become stronger. She would never be as strong as Mercury (didn't want to be as he had had such a horrible childhood to get it), but she did want to be as strong as her Dad and Uncle Qrow. Stronger.

She could protect everyone if she was stronger.

She also knew they were lucky. Beacon was Ren and Nora's home. It had been Weiss' home these past two months. Violet had stayed there too. Mercury may be gone for now, but he had protected their friends. He had managed to protect Em.

Ruby wanted to protect everyone. She had a lot to live up to.

She had lost badly to Ginger that day. If it wasn't for Talaria, she would be a goner. She also probably would have attacked Cinder, even though she had healed her. Only later did it occur to Ruby that Cinder was probably healing Mercury too. Mercury had always been more cautious of Ginger and Pepper than of Cinder.

Ruby had been told that there were new security devices around the school, which was a relief. Pepper could turn invisible and, while they allowed Talaria around the school now, someone who turn invisible was just unfair.

It would have made getting away with trouble a lot easier.

Ruby sighed. She shouldn't be thinking about that.

The twel-ten of them had had study sessions every Saturday. They had Combat Class several times a week, but Ruby wanted more. She wanted to get out there; to get more experience. Uncle Qrow had said that 'a day out there was worth a week in this place'.

But she had promised.

And Cinder and Ginger had been very close to Vale City when Ruby came across them, along with quite a few members from the White Fang. They weren't there when Uncle Qrow went to look.

The security was those heat sensors, but for privacy reasons they weren't in the dorm or any of the bathrooms. Ruby and her family had gotten into the habit of locking their dorm when they left, so that was no change. Jaune had locked himself out enough times to know they did too. BRN would too when Ruby explained why.

Blake had gone home to her parents for those two months. Ruby remembered meeting Blake's parents and had gotten along well with them. Much better than Sun anyway.

 _Though that isn't saying much. And Yang never answered me when I asked her if she had considered dating Scarlet. They certainly went clubbing enough._

The number of videos that Mercury had on his scroll when they had been drunken idiots, though far more of their fun when they hadn't been. Ruby had never touched alcohol (as much as she wanted to but all of them said no) and Mercury hadn't touched it either because he never did. This had given them a front row seat to their friends' clumsy antics. Of course Mercury recorded both times it happened.

Although Em swore off getting fully drunk as she had wound up with a migraine after playing with her Semblance under the influence. Mercury, amused, commented that it should probably be a law of 'no Semblance use under the influence'.

And Pyrrha nearly skewered herself with Crocea Mors once.

Giggling, Ruby closed the suitcase. Maybe they would spend the night watching those videos. There should be some popcorn in the cupboard.

* * *

Jaune was very happy to see REY on the first day of their second year.

He had been in the courtyard with his team and BRN, having a good chuckle at the new first years who had no idea what they were in for. Getting launched off a cliff into Emerald Forest had always been the Initiation, with only the relics being different.

It did make Jaune wonder exactly what they were going to do when they graduated. Somehow, Sun's joke of setting them on fire was something Jaune couldn't rule out.

While the new first years went to the auditorium (good memories), the other years returned to the same dorm rooms they had had the previous year (the first years were going to get the ones that people had moved out of).

When Jaune stepped into the room, he noted that Weiss' bed now had a puppy cover and made a note to ask for that story. He noticed that there were doilies that were dangling around the room that he was sure Weiss was not responsible for.

It felt like he was back home.

The first day was slow for JWMP. All of them had left most of their stuff in the dorm over the two months, but there were still some things to unpack. It still took all of two hours and that was mostly because Melody had somehow got a suitcase that seemed bigger on the inside than on the outside.

"Looks like a good two months," Pyrrha chuckled happily as Melody placed a much needed clock on the wall. Weiss was the only one that had had any sense to bring one last year and she had gotten irritated at their late starts to the morning.

"Not really," Melody responded idly as she rooted through her clothes for something else. "Nyall got into a row with his parents, so he ended up on our couch while Ivy was in with me. She was still there when I left, though Nyall's first day of Haven is today."

"Wonder what their Initiation is?" Jaune grinned. This set the others off again.

"Professor Goodwitch spoke with me yesterday," Weiss stated after they had calmed down. "She asked that we keep it small while the first years get settled. The example she used was that bungee jumping of the highest spire while baiting which idiot had the longest rope was going to result in a month's detention with Professor Port and Dr Oobleck."

Jaune winced. "Harsh." Then nodded in acceptance. "But fair."

"She also asked that we act as mentors and not as poor role models."

Pyrrha smiled. "I don't think we are the team she needs to say that to."

True, Melody and Pyrrha had been the ones to lean on last year. All twelve of them had been in their own way. Then again, RMEY and ZBRN then had to be responsible while attending a school that sounded like it should have had a much higher death rate than it did. Jaune would have loved to see them having to behave themselves. Ruby and Yang would have hated it.

 _Now there's ten of us._

"Nice bed sheets Weiss," Melody teased.

Weiss shrugged. "I may not have picked them out, but I didn't pay for them. I also know that Blake's bed now has cats all over them. Except a few images of a hand drawn Zwei."

Jaune shook his head with a chuckle. That would have been an interesting surprise for Blake. She had gone home and she also hated that dog with a passion. The only other one who claimed to was Mercury and Jaune had seen him sneak him snacks enough times to doubt it (although he had sworn not to tell anyone that).

"Seriously though," Jaune started, glancing at Melody. She looked okay. "Everything okay at home?"

"Everything's okay at my home." She sighed, her hands stilling. "Not so much at Nyall's. He's more worried about Ivy. She's got the grades so far, but she hasn't got the money for a medical degree. If it was anything else they might manage, but if her parents decide not to support her…" Melody shrugged. "I don't know what she's going to do."

"If he chooses the right jobs, Nyall could support her through university when he graduates," Weiss pointed out.

"But it takes away some of his freedom to choose the jobs he wants. On top of that, the best paid jobs aren't normally the most…"

"Moral ones?" Jaune supplied. "Easy ones?"

"Both," she agreed. "Anyway," she turned to Weiss. "Did you get it?"

"Nyall's CD? Yes. It arrived at Professor Ozpin's office yesterday and he gave it to me then. Ren and Nora have theirs too. Remedy said they had their copies."

"I'm happy to pay for it," Jaune cut in.

"So were they," Melody replied. She took a folded towel out of the suitcase and unwrapped it revealing a pile of CD cases. "But Nyall insisted. As you guys chose the songs, he says you can have them for free."

Nyall had agreed to do one record and have it released to the public, but he asked RMEY, JWMP and at the time ZBRN for the songs he would cover and he would ask for permission from the original artists. If it was out in this time, then he obviously hadn't had any problems. Then again, song covers were normally allowed. Nyall himself had chosen two songs, one of which he sang on the stage that final night of the Vytal Festival.

Jaune accepted a case with a joyful "thank you" and had a look at the back. The twelve of them hadn't told any of the others what songs they chose. "I still don't mind paying, especially if this money helps him support his sister."

"He's got this in a savings account," Melody responded. "But bills and education aren't cheap. Neither's travelling and while the school pays for their trips, he's got a feeling he's going to get a lot of legal fees when his parents fall out. They don't have much money, so he's going to feel the bulk."

Jaune winced. He may have had seven sisters, but his parents had never been short on money. They had never been _rich,_ but they had been economic. That was one reason they had so many camping trips while other families went to a different continent altogether. The kids hadn't cared; before he came to Beacon, they were some of Jaune's best memories.

One thing he had learned was that it was very easy to be rich one day and in debt the next. One successful CD did not necessarily mean Nyall was set for life. Some would have been donated to places like orphanages and Nyall obviously wasn't going to be asking for the money for them.

"Even so…" Weiss frowned. "That does seem odd. Shouldn't he still be set?"

Melody bit her lip. "Well, he said it was okay to tell you. Turns out his mother was having an affair and well…"

"They weren't careful," Jaune finished.

"And the dad wants nothing to do with it. Not even child support."

That rankled Jaune. It took two to have a kid, even if it wasn't planned.

"In other words, Nyall might be left having to support a kid," Pyrrha sighed. Jaune could tell she was just as angry about it as she was. "Has he told anyone else?"

"Just Silvo, his best friend. Even the rest of his gang doesn't know, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."

"""Promise."""

"So it's even more of a mess," Pyrrha noted.

"Pretty much," Melody agreed sadly. "Not much anyone can do for the moment. Not until the last straw anyway and as his dad was having an affair for a lot longer..."

Jaune looked at the case again, but focused on the songs. There were no club tracks on here. The songs weren't really love songs either. Nyall should make a good amount off this, but his family was a mess.

"I insist I pay for the one I'm sending home." Jaune wasn't taking no for an answer for that. He thought his parents would enjoy it. He then continued before Melody could say anything. "So what are we going to do to Remedy's and Burgundy's dorm to get them back for the doilies?"

Melody perked up.

Pyrrha smiled at him while Weiss nodded in approval and offered their first suggestion.

The year was off to a rough start.

But Jaune wasn't going to let it hurt any more of his friends.

* * *

Two weeks later, things had settled down for most. It was odd to be one of the elder groups watching new teams form. Had some of their arguments really been that petty? However, at least there were only two 'trouble' teams, but the professors were keeping a close eye on them, just as they did for them when they were first years.

Blake was in her dorm, reading a book on past wars between human and Faunus. She had asked Ren and Nora for some space and they had willingly done so, deciding to spend the day in Vale.

 _Maybe this will finally count as a date._

With a snort of amusement, Blake turned the page.

Her two months at home had been happy. Her parents had been thrilled to keep her. It had finally allowed her to move on from foolishly running away from home in the first place.

It had also told her a bit more about the White Fang too. The two that had been keeping her dad up to date with the White Fang's activities claimed that Adam was the leader of a splinter group. Blake wasn't sure she believed that, but she was sure those two in particular worked for Adam. Otherwise, why wait until Blake pointed out the White Fang were a part of the Dust robberies and worked _for_ humans to tell her dad?

If it were true, then maybe the White Fang weren't as lost as Blake thought. Her father was now interested in meeting with Sienna Khan, the Leader.

Blake's ears twitched, the bow no longer hiding her ears. She shook her head, focusing on the text.

Her father was much better at politics and the two were friends once. Blake had her own friends to look out for and, despite the dangers, she may be ready to face them emotionally, but she wasn't ready physically. She needed more training.

More importantly, what got Ruby grounded was going after Cinder and some White Fang members not far outside Vale City. They weren't done here.

Blake's attention was drawn to the door at a knock.

"It's open," she called. Her hand casually went to her sword lying next to her, but she didn't grab it yet. She had been warned about someone that could be invisible. Emerald had given them a description.

She was pleased she hadn't drawn it when a teen girl entered. She remembered seeing her around and knew she was a first year, but not much more than that. There was something familiar about her though.

"Hello."

"Hi." She shifted, hovering in the door. "Um-"

"Come in," Blake suggested, waving at the Nora's bed, the one next to hers.

The girl's shoulders sagged in relief as she closed the door behind her and sat on the bed. This close, Blake could now see something odd under her scarf.

"A first year, I take it?" Blake guessed. She knew all the others in the school at least by name if not properly.

"Y-Yeah. Coral Sphere."

 _Now I remember._

Blake smiled at her. "How's your first fortnight been?" She shifted on the bed. "Classes wise."

"Good on the Combat Class and little slow on the Grimm Studies." She didn't say anything about the other subjects.

"Are you enjoying them?"

"Most of them. Grimm Studies is a bit…Err…"

"Dull is the word you're looking for there," Blake chimed in. "We think he does it on purpose. There's important information there that's hidden in the way he says it. I think it's also training for picking out the important things in rather boring or trying witness statements when you're trying to complete a mission."

"Oh." She frowned. "Why not say it then?"

"Because that would defeat the purpose of it." Blake chuckled at her scrunched expression. "They'll get more interesting soon enough. Whatever you do, do not get detention with him. He _definitely_ does it deliberately then and unless you get the info the first time, you have to sit it again."

Coral shuddered. "I'll keep that in mind." She bit her lip. "Blake, did you…know my brother?"

"I did once. I haven't spoken to him in a few years." Two years before she left the White Fang. "How is he?"

"Okay. He wants to leave the White Fang, but…"

Blake did know the price for running away now. It was a sticking point.

She remembered Jasper well and he had never been interested in violence. He tended to be the aid to doctor for those that came back injured after a raid. He had never liked being there, but had fallen in with his friends. Ironically, he had come from a home like Weiss'; not physically abusive but very suppressive.

Coral on the other hand had been raised by their father, who had the opposite idea of how to raise a child. Blake remembered Jasper telling her once that his sister was a wild one.

 _So what happened? She's been nothing but nervous since the first week of school. Maybe it wasn't the normal problems with her team._

"I want to help you Coral, but I'm not sure how."

"It's not just Jasper. He told me that there are quite a few of them that want out." Blake could believe that. "But it's not as simple as just not turning up for meetings."

"No, it's not." Blake had been very lucky. She had only needed to survive a few months on her own (she could have gone back to her family) and managed to get into Beacon. She hadn't had any trouble with the White Fang since except when she went looking for it.

Beacon could shelter Coral. But it was a school and not a safe house. It couldn't do the same for her brother.

 _A safe house…_

"Is he in immediate danger Coral?"

"He's okay where he is for the moment. But he's being asked to do things he doesn't want to do and even the friends he went in with are having second thoughts. Have you met Byrd?"

"Never met a guy that liked to flex his muscles so much." At fourteen, he had the body of a body builder and was always looking for a fight. " _He's_ having second thoughts?"

"I don't know what the job is, but yeah. Blake, I hate to ask but…you know the White Fang. But you're a Huntress. I don't have anyone else to ask. I'll do anything."

Blake did not like where this was going. "For starters, you're going to live your own life. I'm not going to ask you to fight a war you don't want to." Coral relaxed instantly. "I'll see what I can do, but I don't know at the moment. There's a few people I need to talk to."

"Like your team?" She almost snarled at that.

"Like my father," she corrected harshly. Coral flinched at the rebuke. "But yes, my team too. I'm not making decisions for just me anymore. I'm responsible for them and I'm not letting them down. Understand?"

"…Yes. Sorry."

"…Your team haven't been treating you well, have they?"

"Me fine, but I can hide it." Under the scarf were fish scales and gills, but only around her neck. "Dale on the other hand…"

"He's your friend with the bear ears, isn't he?"

"Yes."

The old way of dealing with this was to pit them against Mercury as he loved putting rude, arrogant idiots in their place, regardless of whether it was bigotry or suicidal self-confidence. However, it wasn't just the fact he wasn't here that Blake wouldn't have wanted him involved.

"If you have any problems, tell Professor Goodwitch and tell her I've offered to re-educate them on the dangers on picking on a Faunus. Believe me, CRDL were just as bad in their first few months, but they learned."

"…Won't that make them worse?"

"First few weeks, they get a free pass as they learn better. Many of them just parrot their parents. We are protectors of innocents now, regardless of them being human or Faunus. If they try again in the courtyard, even the teachers aren't going to get involved to help them much, save stick them in a detention they'll never forget."

When Blake had been told about that, she was almost disappointed CRDL backed down so quickly. She would have definitely been amused by the teachers treating them as if they were five years old, supervising them everywhere, making them stand in a corner during class, having a curfew and not allowing them into Vale.

"That won't work."

"Then I'll sic Emerald on them."

Coral winced at that.

No one knew exactly what Emerald did, but one rather inconsiderate third year cornered her repeatedly and tried to flirt with her, which she always brushed off. Then he did the most idiotic thing he could: he insulted Mercury, calling him a 'waste of scum and a whore' and that was his kindest language. Predictably, Emerald sent him to the infirmary five days ago and he was only just been released earlier that day. Ruby and Yang sat the detention with her, claiming they would have done the exact same thing. Blake didn't doubt it. She would have too and marvelled at Em's control. She could have killed him.

Said idiot was now sitting detentions of his own. He was supposed to be a protector and, failing that, have _some_ sense of self-preservation. He was now persona non grata with everyone, even his own team. Jealousy was one thing, crudely insulting at least a teammate like that was going to result in time in the infirmary, never mind the fact no one knew if Mercury had broken up with them. That was a rule among all the schools and the students didn't take kindly to it being broken by anyone.

Most people were also under the impression Emerald was still dating Ruby, but Blake wasn't sure of that. Maybe it was something else.

 _I bet the utter lack of discipline at Hogwarts really drove home the point of allowing words to go unchecked and to instil a sense of responsibility. Especially as we're actually adults._

"Would Emerald help?"

"The boyfriend he insulted? Turns out he's a Faunus." Blake had been very surprised to hear that, but she had never seen any traits and had no idea what kind he was. "Even if he wasn't, she really doesn't like bullies."

None of her friends did.

"You and your friends are the cause of gossip for all the years."

Blake smiled at her. "Just wait until we get to the big things. We were asked to go slow while everyone adjusted to Beacon. Mostly for the first years."

"So…About my brother?"

Blake flickered her ears again, thinking. "I need to talk to a few people. Me and my parents were planning to create a safe house for people who wanted to leave, but we haven't found a good place for it. I promise though, I won't just abandon you or your brother. But we do have to be realistic."

Coral nodded, green eyes hard. "Then let me know any way I can help."

"I will." She placed a hand on Coral's, who didn't pull away. "I know it's hard, but I will help. I promise."

She nodded, swallowing. Then she smiled shakily. "S-So, what do we newbies have to look forward to?"

Blake leaned back a little and began with the time that the swimming pool was dyed purple. It had been one of Zephyr's first ideas.

* * *

Tai and Qrow had nearly had a heart attack when _Mercury's_ scroll received a message, especially when they saw who the message was from and what it said. The fact it said to bring weapons to the rendezvous could mean a variety of things, but it was also on a rooftop. Not one person would see even if they did look up.

Still, it didn't take much discussion to come to an agreement on their plan.

Zephyr Oakley/Solgale was more familiar with Qrow. Even if he hadn't lived with the man in the magical world, Qrow was known as a big nuisance to Salem. So he was going to stick to crow form and out of the way unless a fight went down.

By the way his eyes widened slightly before cooling over into a mask, Zephyr hadn't been expecting Taiyang and probably didn't know how to deal with him. He was also eyeing Talaria warily, even though he had been the one to suggest her.

In response, Tai had dropped Zwei off with the girls for the day, saying he was out of the house. They had shrugged and had been happy to have him.

"You put my son in a deadly tournament with very high mortality rates." Just so Zephyr knew where he stood.

"I did." At least he was responsible enough to admit it. "It was mostly curiosity, but at the time I did wish him harm."

Certainly got his wish now.

Tai kept his face blank. "And now?"

Zephyr shifted, almost too minutely to see but Tai caught it. The General had once told Tai that he somehow had an ability to make him feel like an errant five year old that had been caught red handed with his hand in a cookie jar. Barty agreed with that and so did Qrow. Obviously, Zephyr was feeling it and Tai felt a sense of satisfaction at that.

"As unbelievable as it sounds, I want him back with you."

That was something he wasn't expecting to hear. "You're right. I don't believe you."

"I do have an olive branch other than info, but you're not going to like it." He pointed to a rather clean alley nearby. "Pepper's supposed to meet someone there in about…" He checked his watch. "Three minutes. I did think about killing her myself, but I don't want to get caught. And invisibility is kind of a problem I don't have the resources to counter. It shouldn't be that difficult, but people have got lucky before."

Pepper. That certainly explained Talaria and the weapons.

"What do you get out of this?"

Zephyr folded his arms and gave a very obvious 'are you kidding me' look. "A lot of things. But the main point is that I don't want her baby born."

"What." Tai knew he wasn't going to like this.

"Pepper's pregnant. Six months. You can guess the male, as impossible as it seems." It couldn't be… "But I'll explain properly later. If you want to believe it, it'll have to be the long version."

It would have to be the long version. Zephyr may have taken a more neutral role, but they had never known exactly what he was doing and they were very sure he had helped Salem when he attended Beacon. That made him an enemy and someone to distrust.

"I need to know a reason why you want Pepper dead before I help." He wanted Pepper dealt with, but he wasn't going to risk getting stabbed in the back by Zephyr to do it.

"Most simply put, a Black raised by those triplets is going to result in another Marcus Black. I'd like to say worse, but I don't think that's possible."

Tai was in Huntsman mode. Emotions were noticed, but they were suppressed until they could be handled properly later. He was certainly going to be destroying a lot of things later, but that was for later. His focus right now was taking out a big asset to them and a big torment to his son.

For now, he would accept that Zephyr would help with Pepper. He hated Marcus Black.

He tapped his three right fingers against his left arm. It looked like a natural movement for someone who was thinking, but it was also a signal to Qrow to stay in his crow form and that things were going well enough.

That translated into they weren't at each other's throats. Zephyr might look as old as three of his kids, but he was in reality eleven or thirteen years older depending on your point of view. He could have spent most of those years in the field or he could have spent them mourning. There was no way to know.

Tai did recognise the man that Pepper was with: Roman Torchwick.

"Where does he fit into the operation?" Tai asked. Zephyr had said he would give info.

"As far as I know, small time at the bottom of the ladder. Doesn't know anything of value and is easily replaced. The main contact to Vale underground."

Qrow would know more about that. However, they had no idea how he would react to an attack. He could aid Pepper, he could do nothing or he could flee. Zephyr didn't want to be spotted and, if his intel was useful, there was a good reason for that.

Pepper was definitely many months pregnant. But how could Mercury be the father or, to put it more accurately, be the male donor? He had been missing 79 days. Nowhere near enough time.

 _Is that something this supposed time cell or simulator can do? How long has it been for him?_

Tai was well aware he was ignoring reality that was staring him in the face. He would have a mental breakdown later where his daughters wouldn't see. Given that Qrow would be just as bad, he would allow him.

Maybe he would drain Qrow's flask before he could.

Torchwick was moving away.

Pepper waited a few moments before heading back.

Talaria shot down and tried to bite her. No doubt she would recognise the little creature from the night of the final finals, but it should make her stick around longer as she knew she would be able to chase her down.

"Go," Tai ordered to Zephyr.

He obeyed, hopping across the rooftops and blocking an escape that way. That was the thing about alleys; they were good if you want to meet someone without others noticing but it was very easy to get trapped.

Tai should feel some guilt about attacking a woman that was pregnant, but that was easily squashed under the confirmation of the father. Even if Zephyr hadn't told him, Tai would know. What those girls did to Emerald was proof enough.

This was still going to be something he was going to partly regret. He normally tried to bring people in alive. That wasn't happening here. Most of that regret was going to be for the baby, an innocent. But Tai wasn't going to risk Pepper being held for three months to have it.

He would admit that part of his bloodthirst was for revenge for his family.

He caught something small and black in the edge of his vision. Qrow was tailing Zephyr. Smart idea.

Pepper was really having trouble hitting Talaria. She was very apt at dodging. Pepper hadn't tried to run, though. That made Tai suspicious. It also made him grateful that Qrow was in a good position. If that something was Zephyr, than Qrow could handle him.

Then Talaria managed to get her fangs in Pepper's neck. The pointed baton nearly skewered her, but she wasn't the fastest dragon breed for nothing.

Oddly enough, that bite had made Pepper's aura shatter. Yellow flashed all over her.

 _That was worryingly easy._

That made her retreat, especially when she saw Tai. She just smiled, patted her stomach (definitely Mercury's) and fled the opposite way.

Straight into Zephyr's sword.

After the initial stab (which was definitely aimed at the baby), Zephyr casually swung and took Pepper's head off.

"Rather overkill," Qrow commented from behind Zephyr. The words were flippant but the tone was stern.

Zephyr jumped and glared at him very suspiciously. He turned his head to look at Tai, who had his arms folded in a way that told his daughters that they were in Big Trouble. Zephyr scowled, but squirmed very slightly.

"What, are you complaining?"

"I am curious as to why you think that's his, despite the fact it physically can't be." Tai was certain too, but he wanted answers.

Zephyr hesitated for a moment. "I want a better location than here to talk."

"About?"

"A lot of subjects. Ozpin and Ironwood probably want to hear it. Not Lionheart."

Lionheart…It took a second for Tai to recall the name. He met Qrow's eyes, who gave a frustrated nod.

"Then Ozpin's office." It was the nearest _definitely secure_ location.

"Fine." He hesitated for a moment. "The baby…that's because of the time simulator. Also why she was weak enough to be killed so easy. The baby's developed, but she didn't age so it was more of a strain."

…

Zephyr didn't cause any problems for them on the walk, though he did remain stubbornly silent. He even handed his sword over to Qrow without any prompting or suggestion. With classes still in session, Zephyr didn't have to worry about accidentally running into his old team.

Tai was also glad there was no danger in him running into his daughters.

Naturally, with all the teachers either doing their jobs or enjoying their free time, Ozpin was alone in his office.

"Zephyr."

"Professor Ozpin." Zephyr still respected him it would seem.

"Do you prefer Solgale or Oakley?"

"Oakley."

Qrow leaned against the pillar, not so subtly guarding the door. He was leaving the part of interrogator to Tai and was probably going to remain pretty quiet unless he needed to talk. Ozpin looked as calm as ever.

Tai honestly wanted to punch something and he wasn't even halfway into his morning.

"Then Mr Oakley. What would you like to discuss?" Trust Ozpin to be the diplomat.

"He can start with why we should trust him," Tai cut in. "I want the long explanation."

Zephyr turned back to him and his face became carefully blank. "…Okay…You know my story?"

"Your siblings and father were killed by Marcus Black. You were or weren't, but your mother saved you and gave you a new body using a stolen aura transfer machine."

"A good summary. Leaving out a lot that's important but a good start." He took a deep breath. "Okay, Cinder approached my mother first. She didn't say yes until much later, mostly because she was still working in Atlas at the time." That was new. "I heard 'Black's son' and agreed on the spot. I later learned he had been killed by Ginger. Imagine my surprise when I find out the jerk at Initiation was Mercury Black."

That meant that Zephyr was recruited within those five days Mercury had been kidnapped from Glade Town. That led to a problem.

"How would Cinder have both of you? You wouldn't have worked with him and she offered his job back."

"I didn't learn that until much later. A few weeks ago in fact. My guess is that I would have been one of Mercury's first victims if he agreed. It would certainly have got my mother on board if Cinder claimed he didn't do it on orders." Zephyr shrugged. "He's not one to leave a threat to his life alive unless he has to. Just ask Warrick, Roland and Nash. A pity that it was Basil he should have been more focused on. He's the triplet."

Tai closed his eyes. This was just what he didn't need. He would get back to that later.

"So what happened that changed your mind?" It was a simple enough reason. Tai didn't agree with blaming the son for the father's actions, but he could understand where the anger came from. It didn't help that Mercury had clearly been raised to be an assassin.

"I started having doubts when Mercury lost his eye. No one should be that blasé about it. It only occurred to me then that Mercury had probably been Marcus' greatest victim." He scoffed. "Turns out I didn't know the _half_ of it."

Tai wasn't pressing that. Neither did Qrow or Ozpin.

"I had also met the most bitter and hypocritical man I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. Severus Snape. Not only was he part of the reason Harry didn't know his parents, he then blamed Harry for being born and made his life a living hell, as well as bad mouthing the father he helped to murder and obviously felt no remorse for. No, I didn't want to be like Severus Snape. So I gave Mercury some info and left."

That would be the night Mercury killed Umbridge and Lestrange. That was when Zephyr turned neutral.

"Did Mercury show you the letters?"

Ozpin nodded. "He did. At the time, it was because he had gotten fed up of the magical world."

Zephyr laughed. "More than once, we both complained. Even had a pretty decent plan for mass genocide if it came to that. Fortunately for them, some had a sense of responsibility and did their jobs. They enforced laws that were illegal to pass in the first place and ignored the original laws that contradicted them." He shook his head slightly. "Ironically, our problem with them was the same: they had no sense of self-preservation."

Even Ruby had said bad things about the stupidity of most magicals, so Tai wasn't too worried about that. They had made some good friends there, so there had been some good times. Luna had been the main one to help Emerald through her depression.

They hadn't gotten onto the part where Zephyr wanted to help them. Stay out of the fight yes, but not actively help.

"I asked about Marcus and my family. Mercury couldn't give me any details, which was what I expecting. He was only seven at the time." _Seven years and three days to be precise._ "Once we returned to Remnant, we didn't talk anymore." He rubbed his temples. "Then he got caught almost three months ago."

Tai tensed again.

"I wanted to talk to him immediately. But first off they took him to talk to someone called Salem, who sounds like Cinder's boss." Zephyr looked at them. "You know who that is. Great, because I don't. Then he was given to the twins, which annoyed me. No one lasts long with them, a few days at best.

"No one…except Mercury."

Zephyr's face had gone blank again. Tai shoved his paternal instincts down for now and listened impatiently.

"I don't know how long it was for him, but it was at least a month. For me, it was four days. I expected him to be insane. That's the fate of most of the twin's victims. Basil normally doesn't get involved unless he needs a punching bag after a long day. But no, he was perfectly sane. To this day, he still is."

Cinder had told Ruby that. They could both be lying.

"I asked him a few things. See, Ginger has a dual Semblance, just like Pepper did. One of Ginger's could be compared to Legilimency; she can see into your mind, make you relive memories in moments…You get the idea."

Dammit.

Mercury had a lot of horrific memories.

Also, that meant they definitely know everything. He needed to keep a close eye on Emerald.

"Doesn't work on him too well. He could probably stop it from working at all, but…" Zephyr shrugged. "Either way, she can't see anything after he kills his father. She just sees a Grimm dragon, the one he creates."

In the corner of his eye, Tai saw Qrow's frown turn contemplative as well as furious. He would ask him later.

"When I spoke to him, because of Ginger's Semblance use, he remembered a few details of that day he had previously overlooked, though they didn't help much. On top of that, he found my account of Marcus' slaughter of my siblings odd. Apparently, Marcus doesn't usually kill in his victim's home." Zephyr turned to Ozpin. "My research says that's true."

"From the statistics, it is. Of Marcus' known victims, less than 5% were killed in their home. Most were killed in public places and it is thought that many more sudden deaths there are his work."

"Mercury said that. He said that an odd fingerprint in a house or odd people even entering the house gets noticed fast. On the other hand, it's a lot more difficult when the place is public, is known to be a criminal destination as a lot of people won't consent for forensics and no one would think anything of strange people and strange meetings.

"Then he told me that the main reason Marcus killed in someone's home was because he had been there before."

Ozpin shook his head. He was also tense, but Tai wasn't sure why. "I can't confirm that."

"Don't need to. Turns out he didn't normally take jobs in someone's home for the same reasons as he didn't kill them there. So not only was I looking for Marcus' client, I was also looking for a reason why Marcus would be in my house."

Tai did have some sympathy for Zephyr, if for nothing else that he wouldn't want anyone meeting Marcus Black. He also had the feeling Zephyr did not want to know the answer to that question. "Did you?"

"Both. Took me this long. Finding the client was difficult on a lot of levels. He only wanted the head of the Solgale Empire removed as he had lost his four year old daughter due to not following orders of blowing up a train while anyone and everyone was on it and didn't want to lose his eight year old son. He didn't know about me or my siblings and never would have ordered that. Mercury agrees it was most likely Marcus' idea of not leaving witnesses and his clients very rarely requested it."

Zephyr went quiet here. Was that sorrow or anger? He took a deep breath and continued.

"The reason why the bastard was in my house before…was due to a client. One that hired him two years before to take out the leader of a small gang that had been getting in the way of a few plans of my parents."

All of a sudden, Tai could see where this was going. For Zephyr's sake, he hoped he was wrong.

"My father was only interested in the money side, so I didn't think it was him. So yesterday, I went the straightforward route and asked my mother. She told me that yes she had hired Marcus Black to kill an annoyance and she was the one to insist to meet him in our house. While we were still there."

 _What._

"I was pretty pissed at her. Then she told me she already knew who the client had been for _years_ and not only had she not told me, she had told me it wasn't important and he wasn't to blame. But for some reason, in her mind, the son is and he deserves everything that is happening to him. That it was justice for Lake and Dakota.

"I made my choice then and there."

Tai…did feel for Zephyr. From the sound of it, his mother didn't care for him at all and was far more focused on ill-directed revenge than looking after her son. Zephyr may be much older than he looked, but he needed emotional support. Losing his siblings and father in a matter of minutes would be hard on anyone. The way he spoke of his siblings, he was the main one to look after them when they were alive.

All he had had was revenge.

Now, he didn't even have that.

"So ask away. There's only one question I won't answer and that's 'what is happening to Mercury'. He's alive and waiting. That's all I'll say. Believe me, you don't want to know."

Tai locked eyes with Qrow. His head was lowered a little more, muscles strained. Tai looked back to Zephyr.

 _Waiting…_

"Are all the security systems at LiaGuard operational?" Ozpin asked.

"Yes. When we leave, it's on a specific airship and it's scanned carefully during the approach. If it does not fit exactly to what they are expecting, like the number of life signatures, they destroy it before it gets too close by cancelling their instruments and letting it fall."

Ruby wouldn't have got anywhere near the prison. She would have been killed.

Tai let out a long breath. So sneaking into LiaGuard wasn't going to be easy.

"You brought up Lionheart before," Qrow piped up from where he was. "Why?"

"He's Salem's contact in Mistral. That's how RNBW got their transcripts."

There was a flicker of something across Ozpin's face. It settled into calmness soon enough, but it had been there. "How are you sure?"

"When I reported the names of the students, she told me that Emerald used to work for her as well. I then pointed out they had probably talked. She agreed and commented they wouldn't be alive if they hadn't. She told me not to worry as my transcript was genuine and that RNBW's transcripts came from Haven's highest authority."

That did mean it must be Haven's Headmaster, unless it was one of his assistants that helped with much of the work. From the betrayed fury on Qrow's face before he hid it, it was most likely Lionheart.

"You said you wanted Mercury back with us." Tai couldn't see how that jump happened. "Why?"

Zephyr hesitated there, a little uncertain. He sighed. "I hate Marcus. Always will. That said, he certainly took a great interest in…'training' his son. The best way to get back at him is to return Mercury to you. It'll piss off my mother as well and I've found I hate her as much as Marcus. Mercury though…I respected him before and I definitely respect him more now."

Ozpin gave Tai and Qrow a sympathetic look before his attention went back to Zephyr. "What has Mercury told them?"

"Nothing." Zephyr must have seen something in Tai's expression that he hadn't meant to show. "They took him to Salem who…well, Cinder said she searched his soul and I don't think she meant aura reading." Salem herself. Ozpin looked grim. That wasn't good. "That's when they learned that he had a…Animin bond I think it's called, with two others. It was easy enough to guess Emerald was one by his actions during and after Cinder's service and they think it's either Ruby or Yang for the other. They're thinking Ruby."

So Mercury hadn't told them about the bond at all.

And if Mercury hadn't told them about the bond then…

Almost as if he read his mind, Zephyr continued. "They also dosed him with Veritaserum and with his aura suppressed, he was vulnerable to it."

"Veritaserum?" Why did that ring a bell? "Is that that truth potion?"

"Where did they get Veritaserum from?" Qrow questioned. His arms were more tight than normal; he was worried.

"Apparently, Cinder had it on her when she came back and it stayed in her pocket. As you have Talaria, you don't have much room to complain." Again, Zephyr smiled. "You named him well Qrow. He couldn't deny that he knew who had the rest of the Spring Maiden power, but his opinion that Veritaserum was 'made by simple minded fools for simple minded fools' was proven."

"He overcame it?"

"Not exactly. He merely took advantage of some of its limitations. In particular, three things. One: he could answer 'I don't know' to a lot of things because he had never seen factual information on anything, only hearsay. That is his 'truth'. Two: the potion does not have you volunteering information and he is good at phrasing it to mean something else when he did have to answer. Three: in no way does Veritaserum force you to answer in a language the questioner understands."

That was so very Mercury. Although the last one was new.

Qrow groaned. "Of course he would learn the entire dead language rather than the actual spells."

Zephyr chuckled lowly. "His point was that spells went in and out of fashion like some girls change shoes, so it was simpler and more memorable to just go with the entire language. Of course, he never had a tutor, so he could respond 'I don't know' when they asked for a translation. And they can't look it up."

"You asked him about it?" Tai focused on. He wanted to hear about his son more than anything.

"Sure. He knew I'd find it funny. When I asked him how he wriggled out of describing her, he said he had been told what was red, but that was subjective and as it was Marcus that taught him that, he wouldn't trust him to be truthful. The colour didn't change but people's interpretation of it did. That's how 'red' could be 'black'."

"That's ridiculous." But Tai couldn't stop a smile across his face before he focused again.

Still, it was a far cry from a teen that had been brought up to follow orders mindlessly.

"And 'what do you think that means' becomes 'I think it describes the one you asked me to describe'. He'd make a great politician." Zephyr's amusement left. "I can see he's your son now, not Marcus'. I don't have anything left to fight for. I won't deny that. He does. For the same reason I used to."

…

"Is he okay?"

"Far from it. But he's still Mercury and he can recover if you get him home."

Of course they would. They wouldn't allow anything else.

"As for LiaGuard, I'm not allowed into the control room because I come and go. Until recently, I wasn't interested and Cinder will notice if I start asking too many questions. My wonderful mother still never told me who the client was and they have no idea I already know, so they're not going to think anything of me talking to Mercury. But there's not much I can do to help him."

Tai's heart sank.

"However, what I do know is that there is a second force field inside the well-known one. That one is directly connected to the same circuits that control the electric pulse that shuts down approaching airships. If you can get something powerful enough to destroy both shields, it should knock that pulse offline, though I don't know for how long. I know when Venus left at the end of last year, Atlas didn't have any technology that powerful."

That was what James had said in his last contact. It had taken years of development to build those paladins. Still, that was something they definitely had _not_ known before.

"What about this aura transfer machine?" Ozpin asked. "What do you know of that?"

"If you're asking about that Grimm aura dragon, then there's something you need to know about that." He stopped, obviously considering how to phrase it. "Cinder made a miscalculation. She forgot that, while we didn't age on Earth, we still needed to eat. At that point, Mercury hadn't had anything to drink for five days and yes, the twins were that eager. This led her to realise he could keep himself alive with his aura alone. That led to a problem: how much did she allow him? Too much and he'll slip his leash. Too little and he'll die soon. She ended up allowing him too little, only 6% of it. He needed to increase it to survive and the only way to increase 6%..."

"…Was to increase the other 94%." Ozpin rubbed his temples. "This one is going to be even stronger than the last."

So far, it hadn't attacked anyone that they knew of. That was encouraging. It also meant Mercury would be more powerful when he got home, so this wouldn't happen again.

Shouldn't.

"And it's going to continue that way for each replacement, until 6% is enough. Eventually, you're going to wind up with one that is too powerful to destroy. On the other hand, they don't control it. At all. They just create it and set it loose. As for the machine itself, it needs at least a week to recharge after completely ripping the aura out of someone and just like last time, Mercury almost died this time because they haven't perfected a way to keep him alive in his state without his aura. On top of that, he's only going to get worse."

Tai swallowed, but remained professional. If they could figure out exactly what made it attack other villages, they could just leave it in peace. If they weren't the ones making it aggressive, what was?

 _Or…if it is Mercury's aura, he might be able to control it. But he couldn't control the Guardian Form he did create. He always had something else that needed doing and never had time to train with it._

"Speaking of Cinder," Qrow started. "Any idea why she would let Ruby go when she was caught?"

Tai immediately snapped out of his misery and refocused.

"Yeah and that's down to that miscalculation as well. See, if his aura is keeping him alive, then surely the opposite is true. He could use it to kill himself." Tai's breath caught in his throat. "So they came to an agreement. She would allow him some of his aura and would not go looking for his family, such as Ruby. She did comment that Qrow was likely to get in the way due to his job. He in turn wouldn't use his aura to kill himself. After all, Cinder would then have to go looking for Ruby or Emerald to keep the twins in line."

Tai's heart skipped a beat.

 _After everything and he's still looking after us…_

"What's so special about these twins or triplets?" Ozpin asked. "Surely a lot of problems would be solved if they just kept him in a coma until he was needed."

Tai remembered when Yang was younger. 'Behave or I'll take your toy away.' That was not a comparison he liked.

"I don't know what Pepper's Semblance was other than invisibility, though Mercury tells me it's not for combat. I don't know about Basil either. Ginger's other Semblance allows her to steal another person's Semblance. That's what happened to Orion Shard that night."

"Steal…?" Tai couldn't wrap his head around that. Hallucinations were one thing, but this?

"She needs something to…shall we say 'store' the power and she can only keep one at a time. Mercury is out because she needs to take _all_ of a person's aura and him being an Aura Wielder makes that a tad difficult. She can't handle it. She also can't kill the person who the Semblance belongs to as she then loses it. Once it returns, they recover."

"And Mountain Glenn?" Ozpin pressed. "If Cinder wanted Emerald's power, than why not have Ginger take it?"

Zephyr chuckled. "Well for starters, I wouldn't trust Ginger with Emerald's Semblance no matter what leverage I had over her."

That was a good point. Tai was just furious they had Mercury at the moment and after what happened to Emerald then...

"The reason they were at Mountain Glenn was because they got bored and tortured some poor guy to death. Homeless guy, no one noticed, but Cinder was angry. When she sent them there, she took the part of Ginger's gear that she stores the Semblances she drained. Worked well at first, but they had no way of knowing Remedy would turn up. Ruby's words to me: 'just outside the Kingdom'."

Of course she did. Ruby had little sense of actual geographical distance.

"What do you know that can help him _now_?" Tai wanted- _needed_ an answer.

With a flinch, Zephyr shook his head. "Only what I've already told you. I can try to get some more up to date schematics, but unless those two shields come down, nothing can get close. From what I've seen, there are no real guards other than the Atlas Knights, but I don't know about the original prisoners."

"Can you give him a message at least?"

"That I can do."

"Won't you get in trouble?" Ozpin asked. He had wanted to avoid being seen attacking Pepper.

"Mercury doesn't talk much and he's never helpful to them. Doesn't scream or beg either. Just…quiet. As inhuman as it is, he doesn't tell the secrets he knows under _any_ circumstances and never plays their games. Unless he rats me out, which he _won't_ , then I'm fine." The not-teen met Tai's gaze. "What do you want me to tell him?"

Tai's mind went blank. There was so much. Where to start?

"Tell him that his family misses him. Tell him that they're fighting to bring him home and _nothing_ is going to stop them from doing exactly that. Tell him we love him."

Ozpin smiled.

Zephyr's shoulders seem to relax and his tension faded. A sincere smile. "He knows that. But I think he needs to hear it."

Finally.

It finally seemed they were one step closer to having the whole family reunited.

* * *

 **AN: I always meant for Ginger to be able to use other people's Semblances and it works in a similar way to Velvet's that it needs something to contain data (such as a camera in Velvet's case). I had meant to make her worse than most of the canon villans, but it took a few more chapters after I introduced her in the first to realise one particular long term consequence. While it does fit in the story, I am not proud of it.**

 **For those who are wondering, these are the songs on Nyall's CD:**

 **1\. Meet me on the Battlefield (Svrcina)(Nyall's choice)**

 **2\. Come With Me Now (The Kongos)**

 **3\. If Today Was Your Last Day (Nickelback)**

 **4\. Somebody to Die For (Hurts)**

 **5\. True Colors (Zedd)**

 **6\. Unbreakable (Fireflight) (Accoustic)**

 **7\. Fight (All Good Things)**

 **8\. World So Cold (12 Stones)**

 **9\. A New Hope (Broken Iris)**

 **10\. Yours Truly (Paradise Fears)**

 **11\. Come Home (Kyle Kupecky)**

 **12\. Untravelled Road (Thousand Foot Crutch)**

 **13\. Believer (Imagine Dragons)**

 **14\. The Last Goodbye (Billy Boyd) (Nyall's Choice)**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	10. Actions and Choices

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

It had been six weeks since he was last in here.

This time when Tai went to Ozpin's office, it was because of something his daughters did. This hadn't happened last year, so they had clearly gone a little more overboard than usual. Given the main reasons that Qrow had been meeting with Ozpin recently, it was a relief for it to be something like this.

"They did _what_?!"

Maybe not so much of a relief.

"I am satisfied it was an accident and the lead up was innocent enough. The exception is that Emerald may have possibly used her Semblance to show the target was about five feet to the left than it was. No one is certain of that or if Honey really is that bad of a shot."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"They were not."

That was very good to hear, but not a surprise. Tai put his head in his hands. "So what's the damage?"

"The window they were using as a target is remarkably intact. Part of Ren's detention is to put similar runes of whatever we assume Mercury did on _all_ the windows. The brickwork around it they used for a scoreboard requires much more work. So do the gym and swimming pool."

Those three weren't getting pocket money for two months. "Where are they now?"

"I believe they are currently in separate detentions with Barty, Peter and Glynda."

"Then they're coming home with me tonight and will be staying until Monday morning." It wasn't unusual for them to come home on the weekends, but this time they were going to be doing chores unless they were eating or sleeping and Yang's bike was staying the garage for another three months.

Still, Tai couldn't deny he was very relieved about their behaviour.

That did not change the fact they were going to be in trouble for it.

* * *

So far, the human Grimm had only been attacking during the night and their victims were fairly easy to track.

Ozpin had received an SOS from a nearby village about monsters from a Huntsman. As Qrow was the only one available close by with a silver Dust weapon, he passed it on to him.

He ran into one on the way. It actually attacked the airship. Unfortunately for it, the pilot spun the airship around to smash it off the wing and Qrow leapt out to finish it off.

 _That really doesn't bode well._

When Qrow finally got to his destination, he was in for a surprise.

There were no less than four Huntsmen here. Another two were already dead. There was no sign of the civilians, so they had gone into hiding. As long as he avoided the huts, he shouldn't need to worry about harming them.

However, he needed to work fast. These Grimm could easily get into the huts as well.

At first glance, he counted twelve Grimm hybrids, with five circling like Nevermores would. There could be more; the village was a decent size despite the fact it was only a few years old. They didn't have strong defences, but they were close to Vale so they could call for backup quickly.

Two Grimm hybrids had been slashing away at the top of a hut. They looked up when they heard him, snarled and charged.

One had wings. The other did not.

It was the claws Qrow was most worried about. All his scythe would do was annoy them. It might tire them, but with so many in the village, Qrow needed to finish his battles quickly.

The main problem was that it was a _knife_. That was a short range weapon, which meant he had to put himself in range of those claws. These things also had little sense of self-preservation. They just attacked without mercy in a flurry of slashes.

Qrow ducked. A third one had dived down aiming for his head. It had missed, but the first one had just caught his arm. His aura held, but it was still a bad hit.

In the corner of his vision, he saw another Huntsman fall. Even then, the Grimm hybrids pounced on their downed prey. He could only see two people now. The other one had vanished. The two then disappeared deeper into the village.

 _One down. These two to go before I can even get there._

The hybrids payed no attention to their fallen comrade. They paid no attention to the knife that was responsible. Their attack patterns remained unchanged, but then they were already attacking randomly.

On top of that, Qrow was very sure the non-winged one had some combat experience before she was converted. Her movements were far too graceful. She was also aiming for his centre of mass rather than anything she could reach.

It was also using the other one for cover, so Qrow's sword couldn't stun her. That now shield couldn't have been much older than Ruby.

The knife went into his heart. It stopped moving and collapsed.

Qrow rolled onto his back and spun to the side to avoid the next stab from the one that stood between him and the village. This wasn't going to be as…Well the last ones hadn't been easy but they had acted in ways that Qrow was coming to learn.

This one was _adapting._

That was worrying. It normally took decades for Grimm to learn and adapt.

It didn't matter how strong the blow was. Its body was too powerful to be pierced. It stumbled, but didn't fall. It didn't lose limbs and it didn't slow down. It seemed to be analysing him now; a blitz attack hadn't worked.

It chose mimicry.

An easy opening in comparison to the last tactic. The knife went through the shoulder first. The sword smacked it down to the ground fully and a strike to the heart ended it.

Qrow panted. Even so, he took off.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if the winged ones were once Faunus and the non-winged ones were once human.

Honestly, Qrow didn't really care.

Three down. At least nine still to go. The ones circling had vanished.

Yet there were none to greet him when he passed the first hut; the one that had been ripped apart. A glance in there showed that the family inside were already dead, including the small baby only a few weeks old.

 _Is everyone in this village already dead?_

Qrow left that hut and noticed the forest line a few hundred metres to his side.

 _No other Grimm. Only the hybrids. Wouldn't the attack have brought others here? I know there are Grimm in there._

The next hut had a young male, slashed into pieces.

The tension in his body increased. He didn't turn around.

"Raven."

"Brother."

Qrow ignored her. He headed back outside.

The final two Huntsmen were already dead. The five Grimm hybrids responsible looked up in unison. Three charged forward a second before the other two. None of these had wings.

"How did you kill these?" Raven had followed him. "I have lost many to them."

Slash.

That didn't surprise Qrow.

Still, he ignored her. He had far more to worry about than _them_.

Qrow's aura was running dangerously low. Fighting savage humanoid creatures with only a knife that could be fatal was not easy. His Semblance was almost certainly the only thing keeping him alive right now. With nothing in the village still standing and many dead bodies on the ground, the Grimm were finding obstacles that Qrow was not. Those few precious seconds were the only thing between Qrow and death.

The knife remained in his hand, unused for at least five minutes. There had never been a chance.

Qrow's aura shattered.

He hissed. That blow may have done the most damage, but it was the only way to avoid the strike to his right that would have killed him. He couldn't keep fighting; he needed to retreat.

The Grimm were all around him. Qrow had no way to retreat.

All five hit the ground.

Qrow moved. The knife flashed, catching the sun with no drop of blood on it no matter how many Grimm it cut through.

Raven sheathed her sword. "Why does the knife work and nothing else does?" She took off the mask. "I have information on the silver dragon you would be interested in."

 _That_ certainly caught Qrow's attention. He wanted no part in the tribe, but if Raven knew something about the aura animal that Qrow didn't…

"Silver Dust," Qrow responded. "That is the only Dust that works. What do you know?"

Raven glanced at her sheath. "That is not something I currently have access to."

"What a pity," Qrow deadpanned. "What do you know?"

Another slice and the attacking hybrid hit the ground. Qrow followed Raven's swing, ending its life instantly.

"It only attacks those that attack it first. Normally, it leaves a village alone unless they engage it in battle. Then they always die."

 _That_ was the reason? The reason why some villages were spared and others weren't?

"Are you sure?" Mercury…He did only properly pick fights with people who had wronged him in some way and they always threw the first punch. That could be the reason.

 _Silver Dust weapons…_

 _I know where I can find more._

"Very sure."

Raven said nothing else and Qrow made no attempt to talk to her. With his aura now shattered, Raven took the lead to make sure the Grimm hybrids had slowed and were separated enough for him to make a quick kill.

The pair stopped at the last one.

Something was wrong, even if it took them a few moments to realise what it was.

"Raven…Is that who I think it is?"

For once, Raven was solemn. "That _was_ Gyro."

Gyro.

The last time Qrow had seen Gyro was a week ago when he sent him to Mistral. He hadn't been heard from since, something that wasn't unusual.

 _What the hell happened?_

Gyro was fast. He even responded to Raven's style, expertly dodging out of the way. He didn't have wings, but that was only a minor setback. He squirmed out of strikes by inches, but it was very clearly planned.

Qrow stayed out of the fight.

The sole reason Raven was struggling was because she was used to Gyro's style being very different, while she hadn't changed a bit since Beacon. 'He' knew her but she didn't know 'him'.

Grimm human hybrids did not have aura.

One wrong step was all Qrow needed.

The knife went into his heart.

Gyro hit the ground and didn't move.

 _I'm sorry. For everything._

…

Raven took a final glance around. Qrow didn't need to. He knew there weren't any more. He pressed his hand against his side; he was bleeding but not much. A few bandages would get him back home easily enough.

Not sparing Raven another look, Qrow started the long walk home.

"Qrow."

Qrow stopped. He didn't glance back. "What now?"

"That is an aura animal. A very devastating one. Whose is it?"

 _You would like him._

Qrow continued walking. "Never you mind."

 _You've made your choice._

Raven did not attract his attention again.

When he was far enough away from the bloodbath, he would call for an airship.

He now had a disturbing task for Emerald.

* * *

Amber received Qrow's message.

But it was already too late.

She had arrived at her village in the morning. The recent reports stated that the aura Grimm was heading that way and it was nothing short of a miracle Amber arrived just before it. It should just pass them by if they didn't bother it.

Even a glance told Amber the truth: it had no interest in the village at all.

At least, it didn't until the group of typical trouble making teenagers decided to fire a few arrows at it in jest when it was almost out of range.

To their terror, it turned around and dropped into a dive.

Amber leapt up and grabbed the youngest one's shoulder, pushing him to the edge. "Get down and run!" She would lecture them later. "Get everyone away!"

The boy flung himself to the floor, before scuttling to his feet and running.

The eldest, Darrel, hesitated. "It was only a joke Amber. We-"

"Your joke could get everyone killed!" Amber hissed back. She shoved the boy off the tower and leapt down herself just in time to avoid still being on it when it came down. " _Nowhere_ survived when they drew this thing's attention. Go!"

White as a sheet, the boy ran.

"Amber," Maylene stopped as the elders ferried the younger away. "Come on."

In previous areas, the aura Grimm had attacked buildings when the damage could injure the people attacking it. There was some element of intelligence there, even if it wasn't fully controlled.

Mercury liked a challenge. That was the main reason he attacked Amber with Cinder that day. So Amber hoped his aura animal had that same quality and she would qualify as more of a challenge than everyone else.

Amber shook her head. "I'm staying. Take the fighters and go. There'll be a lot of Grimm following you."

Maylene's already old face seemed to age further. "You can't take that on your own."

"I'll be fine." Amber kept her eyes on it. It was currently preoccupied by catapults. They wouldn't last long. "I mean it. Get everyone away. I'll call you later."

One of the other teenagers that grabbed its attention in the first place was running towards it with a spear and a battle cry. Amber knew he didn't even have his aura unlocked, so she very quickly intercepted him. Her grab threw him completely off balance and she easily dragged him over to Maylene.

"And make sure these _idiots_ know exactly what they have done."

One catapult left. The head twisted and crashed into it. The rubble must have scattered for miles.

The boy in her grip, Augustus, finally went still with his eyes wide.

Maylene hesitated.

Finally, she sighed and nodded, gripping Augustus by the arm. "Be careful Amber and get away as soon as you can. I don't think you can kill that thing."

Maylene didn't know Amber was a Maiden. They only knew her as a Huntress and Amber didn't think a Huntress could kill that thing. But she was more than that and it wasn't going to hurt anyone while she was around.

"I know. Go!"

Augustus took off. After a moment, Maylene followed.

 _Try to chase it off first._

It ignored her, heading for the boys who triggered the fight in the first place.

 _Looks like I'll have to kill it._

Amber didn't want to; the next one that was created would likely be even more powerful.

But she wasn't going to let this one destroy her home and kill her friends.

Twirling the staff, she aimed the red Dust at the aura Grimm dragon and allowed the flame to stream towards it.

 _Come on. Focus on me._

The flame would have scattered a normal Grimm. A snarl and its turned head told Amber she had gotten this thing's attention. But it stared, growling. It was almost a dare. After all, Amber hadn't been the one of the ones who first attacked it.

 _Does it recognise me?_

The head turned away, looking back towards the route where the teens had fled.

 _Why them? Why is it ignoring me?_

For some reason, it considered the teens the greater threat than Amber.

Then Amber remembered Mercury's anger at most of the magical teens…and their arrogance and utter lack of self-preservation. It was likely confusing these teens with those.

 _Okay. Only one thing left._

Maiden power.

That fire grabbed its attention fully. After all, Maiden power is a very big threat and he had retreated once before. It spun around and lifted its body up, its jaws wide. Only then did it fully register with Amber just how big it was. It rivalled Amity Colosseum; it could fit everyone in the village in its jaw and it wouldn't even be half full.

No Grimm had ever made Amber this afraid.

She hadn't even been this afraid when she was attacked on that road what felt like forever ago.

This had destroyed towns and villages that had withstood over a hundred Grimm attacks. The one before had wiped out nearly half of the Atlas fleet. It did all this out of instinct and self-defence, not out of malice or planning.

The eyes were not easy to see. They were the same colour as the rest of the body.

If Salem found a way to actually _control_ this, Remnant wouldn't stand a chance.

For a moment, it didn't move.

Then its wing smashed into one of the houses nearby. Bricks and other debris were caught on the wing. With a flick, that was hurtling towards Amber.

Even as she moved to dodge, she noticed the aura Grimm spin around.

Only one brick came near to hitting her, but it wasn't a close thing. The tail was another matter entirely; nearly hitting her neck. That was a very worrying target.

 _How subconsciously ingrained is Mercury's killing knowledge?_

No one had fought this thing on the ground and lived. Even General Ironwood only had the upper hand because of numbers and practiced tactics. He still lost a lot of people.

In a way, Amber had an advantage. She had a large target while there wasn't much of her for the dragon to hit. It had also been in previous fights, so it wasn't at full strength. However, it could attack over a wide range with its wings, jaw and tail. Also, because of its previous fights and instinctive adaption to fighting, it was remarkably dangerous to any who incurred its wrath.

But it wasn't used to only fighting one opponent. Every previously attacked area had far more people defending it, so wide strikes might miss its target but would hit someone else.

Even so, Amber was quickly becoming exhausted.

Amber had already figured this out from their previous fight: Mercury could take a lot of damage by sheer willpower. Willpower and instinct was exactly what this aura Grimm animal essentially was.

The flames from the Dust didn't bother it at all. It had also started to realise a difference between the staff and Maiden flames. It completely ignored wind attacks or manipulation; it didn't knock it off track and there was no damage.

Amber crouched down, hand on the ground, and focused.

It flew low, angled slightly. It would likely attack with its wing or tail, but predict wrong and there would be very high damage to whoever was struck. How many had perished to that?

Amber studied it. It wasn't changing its path.

 _Now._

Two spikes of rock shot out of the ground, both crashing into different wings.

Completely off balance, it crashed into the ground and rolled a few metres before stopping on its feet. Its wings stretched again, once more taking it into the sky.

 _Is it retreating?_

Amber certainly hoped so. She was tiring fast and running out of aura even faster.

It didn't retreat.

Oddly, it dropped down and flew along very low to the ground, repeating the same thing.

This might not be a true creature, but Amber had seen enough to know that was wrong.

Amber didn't do the exact same thing. Rather than time it, she focused on aiming three spikes at the head alone. Noticing the starting rain, she willed it into slightly larger hail 'arrows' and aimed them at its back.

It continued its path.

Nothing hit.

It went straight through everything as if it didn't exist.

 _CRASH_

Amber struggled to push herself up. Everything ached. Aura shattered.

 _His Semblance…_

When fighting the General's army, the Semblance hadn't been used.

That miscalculation could cost her life.

The tycoon took nearly all of her energy to summon, but the change caused it to change direction. The follow-up attack would have killed her. The tail had still caught her.

"Well, well. What do we have here? A fair Maiden?"

Amber shoved herself back to her feet. She was wavering slightly and could barely see. It was a man in a coat, but that was all she could tell.

She was in no condition for a fight.

 _I made a mistake. A mistake where I should have known better._

Before she knew it, Amber was back on the ground again.

"Now then-"

Thud. Crunch.

Despite hearing it constantly for the past few minutes, it took a moment for those noises to register with Amber.

 _That…is the sound of someone crashing into something._

A few seconds past.

Grunts and crashes followed, but Amber was left alone.

 _Okay. Try again. Slowly._

Amber was wobbly…but she was up.

She could see the man better. A man with a tail of some kind. Scorpion she realised. The aura Grimm was now focused on him. Not Amber. Not her people.

She couldn't see her scroll properly…but it didn't matter. She wasn't going anywhere on her own and whoever his man was, he knew about the Maidens. She needed to leave.

 _Well, at least it's not going to attack my people…_

Time passed.

Amber watched the fight, her vision clearing slowly.

The man was a scorpion Faunus. He was really struggling. The aura Grimm was also attacking him with far more ferocity than it had Amber.

 _Does he work for Salem?_

If he did, Amber was running out of time.

The Faunus jumped onto its back and attacked with blades on his wrists. It responded with the obvious thing: rolling over. He tried to run along its side so he could continue on the stomach, but it twisted and the jaw struck forward like a snake.

The man was knocked off and smashed into the wall, his aura shattered.

Actually, Amber thought his aura shattered _before_ he went through the wall. She wouldn't bet on it though. She was still quite shaky.

The Grimm aura animal turned its head to look at her, standing back up on its feet again.

 _Come on Mercury. Surely you've learned not to attack when you have nothing to gain._

Amber could in theory keep pushing her Maiden power, but she honestly didn't want to. She had been warned of the repercussions and one time experimenting on her own resulted in extreme agony for her. She did not want to go through that again.

It stared at her.

Its jaw was open and it was hissing.

Then it took to the wing and crashed into an airship Amber hadn't even noticed. It ripped in two effortlessly.

"Amber."

Amber jolted and spun around. Professor Ozpin caught up to her quickly enough. She let out a sigh of relief, before glancing back.

Only to see the Grimm aura animal now fighting with four human Grimm hybrids.

"…Should we help it?"

Professor Ozpin seemed to consider. "I honestly don't know how Mercury would instinctively respond to his fights being interrupted. It may return its attention to us or it could leave us alone. For now, we need to leave."

True, Amber was too tired to help it anyway.

Professor Ozpin had come on an airship too, but had landed a little back to ensure it wouldn't be smacked out of the sky. Amber nearly collapsed in one of the seats, gratefully accepting a bottle of water.

"What happened Amber?"

Smoothly, the ship returned to the air.

She took a long gulp. Her muscles were protesting every movement. "A bunch of immature teenagers."

He did not need elaboration. He did run a school for teenagers after all. "Did they manage to evacuate in time? Do they need aid?"

"Yes to the first, no to the second." At some point, Amber needed to call Maylene and talk to her properly. "It hasn't gone to the east, has it?"

Amber had made a mistake. At first, she had treated Mercury as an immature teenager and wasted energy being flashy as well as damaging. She shouldn't have done that. It was the damage that attracted its attention, not the display. Even she knew Mercury didn't care about flashy, but competence and threat. She shouldn't have wasted time and power like that.

"No…It appears to have followed us. Excuse me." Ozpin vanished into the cockpit.

Within seconds, the ship banked hard to her left. It climbed steeply.

 _You have got to be kidding._

Out the window, she just caught the tip of its wing. For some reason, it was following them. More importantly, that swipe meant it was attacking.

It wasn't a difficult decision for Amber. One small airship against a huge Grimm aura animal that was now very used to air battle. It was obvious how it would end.

 _Deep breath._

 _Focus._

A crack of thunder was the last thing Amber remembered. She collapsed in her seat, her vision and pain fading.

* * *

The aura animal had taken on the Fall Maiden and had come close to winning. In different circumstances, it would have done.

 _Different circumstances._

The hallways of LiaGuard prison had become very familiar to Cinder. She had made a point to never be here other than for business reasons, but that had become at least once a week. More so after Pepper's death until she straightened Basil out. If Cinder had known at the time what a hassle the triplets would be, she would have had quite a few second thoughts about hiring them.

Recently though, she had been spending more time than normal in the prison, even if she wasn't needed.

The building itself wasn't too bad so long as she avoided the lower levels where the cells were. Those inmates that had _chosen_ to stay, played around down there. It had only taken one incinerated to make the others fall in line.

It helped that Cinder left them to themselves, provided they didn't actually _kill_ their main attraction. He wasn't just here for their personal amusement after all.

For the moment, Cinder was waiting for the message that the aura machine was ready for use. It should be, but everything was checked over immediately before use to be certain. They only had the one and it was a decade old.

That train of thought took Cinder to one of the main offices on third from top floor. That was where she should find Venus, who hadn't left the building since they acquired it over four months ago.

Venus wasn't there.

Heading down into the control room in the exact centre of the building had much better results.

Venus barely glanced up from a console. "Ms Fall."

"Ms Solgale," Cinder acknowledged. "Anything to report?" If there was an issue, she wanted it dealt with as soon as possible.

"Nothing of interest, which is odd. I don't remember the General being this quiet or patient." Venus continued to tap the screen. "I had expected several ships to try to attack by now."

"Atlas were the main ones in charge," Cinder reminded her. "They would know most of the security protocols." Unless Ironwood hadn't been interested in the prison and had left the maintenance of it to someone else. One certain discovery showed there were likely to be some secrets between the previous warden and the General. "He also has something else to preoccupy his time."

"True." Whitely Schnee's disappearance would have his father furious and Ironwood would be the one he would target. "I was told he was put in the simulator on Friday."

Which meant that Mercury should still be in the time cell. She should probably go check on his condition before they ripped his aura out again. Watts may be confident in his serum to keep him alive, but Cinder wasn't.

A smile still came to her face when she remembered Watts' fury with Mercury when they questioned him in Salem's fortress. They may have received no information from him, but it was still one of her favourite recent memories.

 _I've never seen Watts so infuriated, before or since._

"How is his rehabilitation going?" Whitely could be very useful as the favourite son. From their reports at Beacon, RNBW had been certain it was a matter of time before Weiss was disinherited. Basil still stood by that.

Venus shrugged. "I haven't had any complaints so far. It's just a tricky process and even trickier balance. Humans aren't designed to be reprogrammed."

Cinder dipped her head in agreement. She wasn't fond of relying on puppets, but Whitely Schnee had had the right attitude before his capture. A few tweaks and they could send him back to his father.

With the information she wanted, Cinder headed to the lowest floor. Ginger and Basil were in Anima, but they had only left an hour ago when Tyrian reported the aura animal was destroyed. She had yet to find the time to check on him.

Zephyr was leaning outside the door, checking his watch.

Cinder sighed. "Were they overzealous again?"

"One way to put it. When are they not? He should be coherent soon enough." Zephyr glanced up at her. "Why? Do you need his aura again?"

The dial showed that eight hours had been set inside the cell. That was a decent rest. Normally, this time gap still took ten minutes to pass in reality. "How long ago did you set it?"

"Nine minutes."

Cinder would give it another three. There was no point in trying the door as, until those ten minutes outside and therefore whatever time inside had passed, it wouldn't open.

"And his condition?"

Zephyr shrugged. "Very bad but not life threatening from what I can see. For him anyway. Can I talk to him first?"

Until the clearance was passed on to Cinder, she had no problem with that. "Certainly, though I don't imagine there is more he can tell you."

Cinder was well aware of the change in Zephyr. While he wasn't interested in taking orders, his single minded determination to find out who was responsible for his siblings' deaths meant she didn't have much to worry about. He wasn't interested in the war between Salem and Ozpin, so he wasn't much of a factor.

Even so, she was quite sure that Zephyr had been responsible for Pepper's death and not Qrow Branwen like Basil assumed. She had no opinion of that; Pepper had served her purpose and a baby would make her _very_ unpredictable. Her death was, in a way, a relief.

Pepper had known that Zephyr's problem had always been with Marcus Black and, honestly, should have known better than deliberately carrying his grandchild. Zephyr's possible response could have been predicted.

 _Of course, I didn't learn of her pregnancy until after she was dead._

Zephyr folded his arms and stared at the ceiling stubbornly.

Cinder suspected part of Zephyr's problem was that he didn't have any leads. It was never easy finding an assassin's client and he had very few people he could question. There had been a fallout between him and his mother some weeks ago, but Cinder had kept a close eye on him and none of his behaviour had been suspicious (possible murder of Pepper not included).

Zephyr may not know anything important to them, but he could tell Ozpin a few things (not many but a few) that could set their plans back a bit. Nothing ground breaking though, so other than monitoring him in case he went somewhere he shouldn't, no one had paid him much attention.

The dial by the door had turned from red to green.

"Go on then," Cinder purred, gesturing to the door.

Zephyr glanced at it, narrowed his eyes and vanished inside.

It was a little annoying that Mercury had no problems being helpful to Zephyr's search, but refused point blank to answer any questions for them. He knew who had the rest of the Spring Maiden's power or had a very good guess, but nothing was getting that information out of him. Cinder had given up and accepted that Mercury won that topic. Others still asked, but all knew the truth: he wasn't talking.

Five minutes passed when Cinder received the notification the aura machine had been checked and was fully operational. Even so, she decided to wait until Zephyr came out. She was in no hurry and she would prefer his help.

A warning from Salem was not something one ignored.

Especially when there was so much that Mercury had managed to protect from her, including his Semblance. It was odd that he didn't even try with an Animin bond that explained so much about his and Emerald's actions and arguments when they worked for Cinder, but then aura searching was a battlefield he had no idea how to fight on. He had picked his battles.

Salem herself acknowledged it worked. The Grimm dragon in his soul had kept a lot of important information and they would have to kill him to kill the dragon. However, there was nothing to be gained from a corpse.

 _And he knew it._

To this day, Cinder was angry that fate and his choices had removed such a powerful individual.

But she would respect those choices.

Zephyr rubbed his eyes as he stepped out.

"Anything useful?" Cinder asked. She was curious as to where he was heading next.

"Yes and no," he responded. "I don't think it's just exhaustion though. I think they've damaged his spine."

If they had, Cinder was having words at least. It wasn't difficult to damage someone's spine, but it was very easy for a fatality to occur as a result. Mercury may have been 'given' to them and the other inmates if they wished to keep them in line, but Cinder had no problem taking him away if they were going to jeopardise the true plans for him.

"Very well. I'm taking him up Zephyr. I wish for your help."

Zephyr sighed. "Yeah. Sure."

Cinder herself stepped inside the time cell, with Zephyr close behind.

It was always a pity to see a strong warrior chained and brutalised.

Mercury didn't move when Cinder touched his shoulder, carefully searching with the Spring Maiden's power to sense everything that was wrong with him. What little of his aura had managed to regenerate always helped with that, almost guiding her to where his most fatal, not most painful, injuries were. After all the healing she had done for him, Mercury was very receptive to the power now. Or perhaps it was due to his iron will to live.

As it was, there was a big problem with his spine. It wasn't easy for her to fix, but it was a very specific injury.

"What did they do there Mercury?" Cinder knew he was conscious. That injury could very easily have killed him and she was going to make sure they didn't do it again.

"…Screws and drill…" was his rusty murmur. It took all his strength just to move his lips. But he knew how close he was to death. If he wanted to die, he would do the job himself. Cinder was his main way to survive and things like this had to be prevented, not healed because there might not be a 'next time'.

 _Perhaps they had been trying to kill him. That would have been fatal to nearly anyone else._

"Both of them?" It did seem odd that Ginger wanted to kill her pet though…

"…No…"

Basil then.

There were many, many other injuries but none were anywhere near fatal on their own and stacking them had never been a problem on this victim.

He just endured.

Healing Mercury never took long. Cinder suspected that was what his aura was most used to doing throughout all his life. There was a reason he originally thought ignoring pain and injury was his Semblance. At the time, she had no reason to think otherwise.

She was curious as to what it really was though.

His remaining grey eye opened and met hers. It went from her to Zephyr and back again. No fear or hope there. Just solid determination and extreme exhaustion.

 _It is a pity what has been done to you. But you've made your choice and stood by it with conviction, against your best interests. I will respect it and our deal._

Cinder retrieved a syringe from her pocket. No doubt Mercury recognised it, but he was in no condition to do anything about it. Even if he was, he had nowhere to go. It was so easy to inject it into his neck. He didn't respond to any of her movements.

Three seconds and his eye slid shut.

Her power confirmed he was unconscious.

Cinder studied her once subordinate.

She wasn't happy with what had been done to him and the fact that the treatment would continue for as long as he was alive. He was far too dangerous to allow to be free again.

She had originally promised him so much.

When Cinder made deals, she stuck to the wording unless it was very beneficial for her to go beyond that.

For Mercury, she would stick to the spirit of their current deal as much as the wording. He had more than earned that much.

* * *

 **AN: Some chapters just don't want to be written. This was one of them.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	11. Childhood Haunts

**In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Whitley was dead.

Whitley was dead.

Weiss wandered the halls with moonlight as her companion.

She hadn't been close to her brother. In fact, she had found him irritating. She had always been on good terms with her sister, but her brother she had mostly ignored. Something he had been satisfied to reciprocate.

Yet, his death…

It was nothing short of a miracle he was found at all. His…body had been found at an outcrop of Atlas territory. His neck had been snapped.

But…

At least there was a body to bury.

 _Though no doubt Father-_

Weiss nearly crashed into someone coming down the side hallway. She barely managed to stop herself in time.

"Sorry."

Emerald had stepped back to avoid the collision as well. "Not your fault. I wasn't looking where I was going."

Then Weiss remembered what was down that corridor: the infirmary. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. Just…forget it. Please."

"Sure…" It wasn't any of Weiss' business, but she did worry.

Emerald looked as tired as Weiss felt. "What's on your mind?" Though she was reluctant to discuss it.

Weiss was in no mind to speak her thoughts either. However, she did not want them to be hopeful and Emerald would tell them what she could not. "My brother was found dead a few hours ago."

"Ah. My sympathies."

"Thank you." It meant little, but Weiss really didn't want to talk about it. "I saw Qrow Branwen a few minutes ago. Any news on…?"

Emerald swallowed and shook her head. "He would have sent me a message at least."

"I think he's still looking for you. There's still hope for him."

…

"Thanks Weiss. I'll find Qrow later. He knows where to find me, so it's not something he wants to talk about."

"He knows you were in the infirmary?"

Emerald sighed. "Weiss, I'm learning about medicine and injuries. Just please don't tell anyone. There's nothing wrong with me."

"But-"

"What are you going to do about your brother?"

Emerald was baiting her. Weiss knew it. But Weiss didn't have the energy to snap back at her. "I don't know. Father will probably handle it." Winter had told Weiss, but she hadn't said that.

"…Do you think Gelé will turn it into a publicity stunt?"

Maybe Weiss was more tired than she thought. She wanted to get angry at that. Angry that Emerald would dare say it and angry that she was probably right. Instead, she just asked something else. "Gelé?" She had never heard anyone refer to her father as that.

"I've heard about your grandfather. I respect your father as a businessman. I don't respect him as a Schnee."

It was so ridiculous, Weiss almost laughed. "Tell me about it." She leaned against the wall. Maybe she was more tired than she thought. "Shame I can't disinherit my father."

Emerald shrugged.

"Maybe I should change my name to Diana."

That brought a smile to her friend's face. "Maybe we all should."

Weiss smiled. "How about starting tomorrow?" After all, what's the point in giving names to each other if we're not going to use them?

"Sure. Why not?"

Qrow Branwen appeared then. He gave Weiss a sympathetic look.

"Don't," Weiss warned. He didn't say anything. She turned to Emerald. "See you tomorrow then Maia."

Emerald laughed.

* * *

Ruby did not like the fact that Emerald had vanished with Uncle Qrow after lunch. They wouldn't tell her why either. All they told her was that it was very important to Remnant and brought up ghosts the family should keep buried.

Yang wasn't impressed either. She wanted Emerald where she could see her. But Dad put his foot down and had forbidden her to go. The adults even got the teachers in on keeping the blood sisters here.

Ruby really wasn't happy.

Still, at least it meant they could be there for Weiss.

Ruby knew what it was like to lose someone close to her.

Weiss was angry and snappy to everyone, even her friends. They didn't snap back. They just fell quiet or talked about inconsequential things. Even if Weiss wouldn't talk to them about Whitley, they didn't just leave her alone. She was their friend.

Weiss only opened up to Melody.

After their last class though, JWMP approached the sisters. It was Weiss who spoke.

"We were thinking about a trip to Vale with a movie night afterwards, if you're interested."

Ruby perked up.

Yang smiled too. "Yeah. Sounds good."

They found Nora and Ren about to bungee jump off one of the spires. Fortunately, they were stopped before Professor Goodwitch could appear to give them detention for the rest of the month. That would spoil their plans now and in the near future.

Blake was in their dorm room, but when Nora went in, she was talking on her scroll to what sounded like her dad. She was going to be a little late to their outing.

Yang and Pyrrha decided to wait for her.

The others headed off to Vale.

They weren't worried; they knew that the person who could turn invisible was dead, so a lot of new protections had been rescinded. Not all of them as there was still some criminal activity in Vale, but no more than previous years. Even the mass of kidnappings hadn't hit Vale City like it had other places.

Oddly enough, the crime Ruby thought had gone up the most was graffiti.

Some of them were real works of art too. They sound be selling paintings for a fortune, not angering locals by drawing on their buildings.

"There's this new go karting track that opened up this weekend," Nora noted. "We could go there once we get the rest of our victims down here."

"Sounds good," Jaune replied. "Though, in the meantime, how about the arcade? I hear someone has beaten my high score at the 'whack a mole'. And Nora's too."

Nora gasped. "Blasphemy!"

Ruby giggled.

Weiss let out a 'humph'. "So childish."

"And maybe someone's beaten Weiss' score on that dancing game!" Ruby tagged on with a grin.

"They better not have!"

* * *

Qrow knew that it would take several hours by airship to reach Mistral from Vale, so he wasn't surprised that it was already dark by the time he and Emerald made it to the main city. It didn't take much longer to get to the right town.

Now they were relying on Emerald's memory.

Emerald hadn't spoken to Qrow since they left. That didn't surprise him. It was a horrible trip they were taking, but there wasn't much choice. There were items there they needed to save countless lives.

Emerald didn't really care about that. She never wanted to go back there again. But she had agreed when Qrow asked her. If for no other reason that she didn't want to be useless against the people who were hurting Mercury.

Qrow really wasn't happy about any of this either.

The reason they were travelling in the dark was because Emerald's last trip had been in the dark, so she had a better chance of seeing the right landmarks. He wasn't too worried about getting lost as no one would be all the way out here at this time.

Oddly enough, there weren't any Grimm around either. He hadn't seen one since they left the last town to wander in the wilderness.

Emerald stopped when her flashlight landed on a rock just off the side of the seldom used path. "We went wrong once here." She fell quiet, the flashlight going one direction, then the other. There were no paths either way. Only complete woodland.

Qrow didn't bother her.

His eyes tracked the trees.

 _Completely isolated._

 _Completely alone._

One of the people in the town had clearly recognised Emerald. Qrow knew the signs. The people were a tight knit community, wary of outsiders. Why then were they so helpful to Cinder that day? Was it because they thought Marcus was better away from them? Had Marcus ever killed any of them? If they knew he was there, why not turn him in?

Qrow was very certain there were no bounty missions with Marcus Black as the target.

How things would be different.

 _If there had been a Huntsman that was lucky enough to kill Marcus Black, what would have happened to Mercury? Bounty missions with targets that had families can end any way, but normally badly for the family._

 _Now I think about it, why wasn't there a bounty mission for Marcus Black? He was well known to most Huntsmen, even if they thought it was a pseudonym._

"This way."

Qrow's eyes followed the direction Emerald had decided. "Come on then. The sooner we're there, the sooner we can leave." Something was putting him on edge. It was like the shadows had shadows.

Emerald was obviously just as nervous and she wasn't good at hiding it.

"You okay Mint?"

Emerald didn't glance at him. She did step a little closer to him. "Didn't feel like this last time."

Qrow gently put his hand on her shoulder. It didn't seem to do much, but Qrow knew the feeling. This just felt _wrong._ He glanced around carefully. No Grimm. That wasn't right either. Something was very wrong.

A pathway slowly unburied itself from the dirt. By the bottom of the hill, it appeared almost well-kept.

The light beam didn't go as far up the hill, but Qrow could make out something up there; little more than ruins.

Qrow didn't need to ask if Emerald was sure.

Mercury's childhood house.

 _Prison sounds more accurate, ironically._

During the climb, Qrow quickly noted there was very little of the actual house remaining. Only a few beams, planks and a lot of ash. How much accelerant had Mercury used? He must have come close to burning himself alive.

 _Would he have cared?_

Not far away: a dead body. Almost recognisable.

"Marcus?" Qrow murmured softly.

Emerald nodded. "I-Let's just grab what we came for and go."

What they came for.

The silver Dust weapons.

Which Mercury had once said were in the basement.

Qrow knelt down as he glanced at the ground in the centre of the rubble. He had no idea what it should have been, but by the damage he was going to guess wood. Charcoal was all that remained. This was going to make things difficult.

 _Something's coming…_

Qrow stood up, his hand going instinctively to his sword.

Something was nearby.

Emerald had gone for her weapons too, but she hadn't been watching Qrow. Her eyes remained fixed on the woods around them, deliberately ignoring the remains of the building and the remains of the assassin.

Qrow closed his eyes and _listened_.

He knew that sound. He knew it very well.

Wingbeats. Very faint, but definitely wingbeats.

Qrow's eyes sprang open and his gaze shot up.

…

"Emerald, back down the hill a little. Slowly."

Qrow didn't take his eyes off the Grimm aura dragon snarling at him. Its eyes weren't grey. This wasn't Mercury.

But it was a part of him.

Even if it was the wrong form, this had been created using him.

And Qrow very much doubted Mercury would be happy that they were at his childhood prison.

"Merc?" Naturally, Emerald hadn't backed down the hill. She hadn't gone any closer to it though. "Can you hear us Mercury?"

The aura creature landed a few feet in front of Qrow. Jaw open and snarling.

None of the three moved.

 _Only attacks when it is attacked._

Qrow's hand left his sword. He took a step forward.

It hissed lower and snapped its jaws. A warning.

 _I would never hurt you Silvertongue._

"It doesn't recognise us, does it?" Emerald's voice was little more than a whisper. "…Qrow, maybe you shouldn't-"

It was a potentially suicidal move.

Qrow stepped forward again and placed his hand on the jaw, deliberately close enough it could bite it off if it wished.

Then he _focused._

[Pain…Tired…Cold…]

Images. Images too fast for Qrow to catch. Many were in the same place, but there were far more random ones. Different colours; different places; different times. He would even say hundreds. Maybe thousands. There was only one link between all of them; underlining everything. Suffering; exhaustion; determination.

Qrow opened his eyes.

The creature was calm. It kept its gaze on him, but there was no hissing or growling or anything.

 _I'm sorry Silvertongue. I'm so sorry._

 _But I promise. I'm getting you out of there._

Mercury couldn't hear his promise.

Qrow slowly moved his hand along the jaw. It didn't attack him. It also seemed to have shrunk a little. It made no attempt to move as Qrow continued to pet it.

Mercury wouldn't sense this affection either.

In a moment, its demeanour changed. Its head came up again and it growled lowly. Before Qrow could react, its wing came around him.

Not attacking.

Protecting.

Qrow knew what had happened.

He placed his hand on the wing surrounding him. "Emerald, slowly. Use your aura. Don't be a threat." He tried to use his aura to calm it again. The wing curled around him further.

It was Qrow's job to protect Mercury.

Another moment and it settled again.

The wing uncurled a little. Qrow could now glimpse Emerald. She was crying. She was gently petting the top of its head. Almost the way she petted Mercury's hair.

"Come here Mint."

She came.

Qrow put an arm around her.

The wing curled again. A new sound began to sing in the air. It was almost a quiet coo.

"I was angry at him. The last thing I said to him…"

"Don't Emerald. Don't go there."

They had all been angry at him.

Mercury probably wouldn't even say 'I told you so'.

Qrow tried to think. He really didn't want to leave this aura animal here. It was calm around them, still had enough in it to recognise them when they introduced themselves properly. Qrow didn't want it hurt.

His eyes dropped from Emerald to the ground. Then he noticed something. Checking on Emerald, she was okay for him to let go and he carefully knelt down. There was something wrapped around its leg.

 _That…looks like a tracker._

It was very easy to get off. It looked like little more than some sort of metal with an antenna on it. A tracker was all it was, but if Qrow wanted to take the aura animal anywhere, he needed a way to get rid of it. Easy enough; he had a few ideas about that.

 _The cave…_

A few weeks after Summer died, a huge Griffon had taken up residence in a cave in Patch. Rather than go out hunting, it waited for rumours of disappearances to draw in victims. Quite a few families had lost children to that huge thing before Qrow and Taiyang heard of it. Even then, it took quite a bit of searching to track it down and Patch wasn't a large island.

But no one had gone near that cave since.

If this could shrink more, then it could stay there. Out of sight and out of danger.

"Qrow…" He stood up and focused on Emerald. "We-We're not leaving it here, are we?"

 _Anywhere but here Mint._

"No. It's coming with us." He took a deep breath and ran his hand against the wing wall. It moved for him. "I'll grab the stuff. I don't want to come back here again."

"Agreed," she murmured. She swallowed. "So…A basement."

"Yeah."

Emerald didn't move.

Qrow did. He stepped outside the little sanctuary the aura animal had made. He studied the floor again. Now though, he was sure it was hopeless. He was going to need to dig.

A low growl.

Qrow glanced back at the aura animal, making very sure his posture was as least threatening as possible. It wasn't looking at him, but at Emerald. Its back was arched and shoulders hunched.

It turned its head slowly and stared at the ground. Then it extended its neck and gently nudged Qrow. Catching himself, he stood up and took a few steps back, hoping that was what it wanted.

One wing remained securely around Emerald. The other came down so it was flat on the ground. The head lower farther and used its jaw as a scoop, collecting everything in its mouth. One jolt of the head and the dirt was thrown quite far to the side. Another scoop and toss.

There wasn't a third.

It sat back on its haunches and twisted its head to look at Emerald again.

Qrow gave her a questioning look.

She flinched. "I asked it if it could show me the basement. I didn't think it would understand and actually…"

Qrow managed to smile at her. "Don't worry Emerald. It still seems okay." For a bizarre definition of okay, but it wasn't aggressive or even stressed.

The basement was a good size. About as large as their living room and kitchen combined. There wasn't much left in there. Some furniture, such as quite a few tables and…

A lot of chains.

"Wait up there Emerald."

Most were in remarkably good condition. There was little rust on them, but three had been shattered beyond repair. Some were around the 'furniture' that Qrow suddenly didn't want to know what they had been, but others were on the floor. Many different sizes.

Some attached to collars. He tried lifting one. Easily weighed a tonne. A memory of fighting dogs in a paddock with heavy chains trailing them entered his mind.

 _Bad idea. Leave alone. Move on._

Something caught his eye about one particular length that had a far too small collar on the end. He knelt down and had a closer study. There was something caught in the ring that attached the chains to the floor. With a good jerk, Qrow pulled it out, leaving a tiny but noticeable dent in the metal. The little cube like object seemed to be bone, but what kind Qrow had never see-

 _Yes I have._

This was a fragment of a baby tooth.

Qrow threw it to the ground.

He'd seen enough.

 _You never had a chance, did you Mercury?_

The silver Dust weapons were piled against a wall. Even if half of them were still buried in the debris the aura animal hadn't removed, Qrow could see there were well over twenty items. All different types, sizes and, most likely, uses. All were in very good condition, despite Mercury's best efforts.

 _Sorry Silvertongue, but without very specialist equipment you were out of luck._

Knives, swords, whips, bows and arrows.

 _Bow and arrow? Don't remember any victims of those…_

Qrow packed everything. He would figure out exactly what to do with them later.

He jumped out of the hole, relieved to see Emerald still near the aura animal and away from what Qrow was very sure was _at least_ a torture cellar.

"Right. Time to go."

"Finally," she muttered. She didn't even look at the hole in the ground. "So how are we going to do this?" The hand returned to its head.

Qrow's hand went to its jaw again, giving it the choice to hurt him if it wanted. How long had it been until Mercury was given a choice on whether to hurt someone? Was it before or after Marcus was dead?

The aura Grimm didn't hurt Qrow.

Silvertongue trusted Felix. He trusted Tai. Yang. His Gems.

"How did you ask it before? Could you ask it to take us home?" There was no way Emerald was returning to Beacon tonight or even tomorrow.

Emerald frowned. "I don't know. It was like aura reading but he…I mean…it-"

"Feels wrong," Qrow finished. It felt like Mercury and didn't feel like Mercury.

"Yeah."

The head came up again. The wing that had been around Emerald straightened out and angled itself to the floor. Like a ramp. Slowly but surely, its entire body began to shrink in size. It stopped when it was about the size of an airship.

With a final pet, Emerald carefully ran her hand down what would be black flesh on the real thing before hopping up onto what would be the membrane. There was no reaction from the aura animal. She slowly stepped onto its back, dwarfed by its size.

Qrow had kept his hand on it. There was no shift in the aura to suggest it was about to attack or even move.

He could jump straight onto its back, like Emerald probably could have. Instead, he chose the same route. He didn't want to spook it.

It remained calm.

Once Qrow was settled, it spread its wings. With one huge leap, it was up in the air.

As they headed west, Qrow dropped the tracker into the source of a river. In a few weeks, it would arrive in the ocean. The path it chose to fly was random, so if they were following the tracker, they shouldn't think anything was wrong unless they went looking for it.

The aggression towards the scorpion Faunus showed that was a bad idea.

Qrow manipulated his aura. The aura animal sensed it and flew higher. It wouldn't do to spook everyone on the ground, even if nearly all villages and towns knew not to attack it now.

 _Although at this size, they would probably think it was an airship._

Just because it was smaller didn't make it any less powerful.

It was colder up here, but Qrow had been freezing since he had been in that basement. He didn't think he could feel colder. Emerald was a Maiden, so she wouldn't even notice.

Not long before dawn, but before its light, they were over Patch.

It hovered in the air. Waiting.

Qrow remembered the cave and manipulated his aura to describe its location.

The aura animal began to fly again.

Qrow pushed the bag in front of Emerald. "Keep hold of this, would you?" At her confused nod, he jumped off.

Many feet down, he shifted into a crow.

Emerald probably saw that, but he would explain another time. Right now, he needed to be sure no one was in the cave he wanted to shelter the aura animal.

Luck was on his side. Not only was there no one in the cave, there was no one around to see it in the air or land.

Oddly enough, it settled immediately inside. There was no sign of aggression at all. It just lay in the farthest chamber from the entrance.

Emerald slid down. She stayed at its side. "I'm sleeping here tonight."

"If Tai agrees," Qrow replied, taking the easy way out. He needed to tell him about this anyway. "I'm going to go fetch him, so stay out of trouble until then."

Emerald gave him a shaky smile. She sat down and leaned against the aura animal, trying to get comfortable. Like before, the wing came around as protection.

The cave wasn't too far from their home: only a half hour walk.

In hindsight, it was most likely their grief over Summer alone that brought the old Griffon to Patch.

Tai was still up. He was in the kitchen, with a mug of something warm.

"Hey Qrow." He glared at the bag. "Job done then."

"…Yeah." Said bag was dumped under the stairs, out of obvious view. Qrow then returned to the table and took a mouthful from his flask. The alcohol did nothing as far as he could tell. "It was bad Tai."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Never." He did not want to remember what he saw in that 'room', ever.

"Are you going to talk about it with him?"

That made Qrow wince. "I don't…Depends how he is." If Mercury saw those weapons, he would recognise them and it wouldn't take him long to figure out how Qrow got his hands on them. "They might say he's sane but…Not for a while even if he is." Then the idea hit him. "Tai, that wrong aura animal showed up then." Tai's mug hit the table. "We brought it back with us."

Tai frowned. "Where is it now?"

 _At least he's not angry._

"That cave. Emerald's decided she's staying there with it for the night."

Tai nodded slowly. "It's not going to hurt her?"

"No, though it'll be aggressive towards you until you introduce yourself using your aura. It didn't recognise us until we did that."

A sigh. "Well, it's a good place for now, but we can't risk anyone else finding it. It can't stay there long."

"If my plan works, it won't."

Tai looked him in the eye. "Plan?"

"It includes using that to get Mercury back."

For a moment, Tai didn't respond.

Then he seemed to understand.

"That…might work. If it is powerful enough." Tai finished off what Qrow was sure was tea. "Right. I want to go check on Emerald."

Tai may check on Emerald, but Qrow knew full well she wasn't budging.

 _Soon Silvertongue. Soon._


	12. War Is Not a Game

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Taiyang wasn't sure which of them had the more dangerous job today.

Qrow would be definitely be fighting known sadistic killers and possibly Semblance-stealing nutjobs and maybe even a Maiden if he was really unlucky. With him being very high on Salem's hit list, most people would gun for him.

Tai had to try to keep Ruby and Yang at home when they _knew_ the only reason Qrow himself was going with the strike force was to rescue Mercury and, naturally, they wanted to tag along. Emerald was an argument all in itself that they hadn't decided the outcome of.

That said, the two knew they couldn't swap.

After a little discussion, the pair had agreed to tell the kids exactly what was going to happen. It would stop them somehow finding out another way and trying to sneak along. As much as Tai wanted to believe in Ruby's promise, he honestly couldn't be sure.

Tai had lost Raven.

He had lost Summer.

Mercury was currently gone.

Qrow had a very good chance of dying.

 _Where had everything gone so wrong?_

Tai shook himself and started a trek around the house. Ruby and Yang were in the shared bedroom, not acknowledging Tai when he walked past. They may understand that they would only be in the way and had a greater chance of getting their uncle and friend killed, but that didn't mean they were happy about being left behind. Emerald, Tai was sure, had smuggled away one of the silver Dust daggers. She was determined to come along.

The sticking point was that she had the most reason to go; not because of her shared history with Mercury, but because he might (probably) need her Spring Maiden healing power. It was why she was studying so hard and spending so much time in the infirmary.

It was also the reason she had to be protected the most.

Other than Ruby's silver eyes and Tai hoped they would not kick in. Ever.

Tai was sure the only reason Emerald hadn't already left to sneak onto the airship or aura animal was the emotional blackmail from Qrow. In a way, Tai wished he had been there when that argument happened; it couldn't be easy on either of them to admit Mercury was _almost_ choosing to go through hell to protect them.

Especially when Zephyr told them Mercury did have a _second_ 'out' and had ever since he was taken.

 _Almost._

But today.

In the full day it had been there, no one had stumbled across the Grimm aura animal. A relief.

This was the first time it had been left alone since it had been brought back to Patch. The next time Tai wanted to see a Grimm aura dragon, he wanted it to be the correct one.

But it wouldn't be alone for long.

They were just waiting for a call from Ironwood.

Qrow was in the kitchen. "So far, so good?"

"Yep. Need to make a decision about Emerald though."

Qrow swallowed a mouthful from his flask. He offered it to Tai, but he shook his head. If his girls decided to leave, he needed a clear head to stop them. He didn't have Qrow's ability to function so well while drunk. It had been quite a while since he was envious of that. If he didn't, Tai wouldn't be letting him go.

Mercury's scroll rang.

Only one person called that.

Tai and Qrow looked at each other. Qrow leaned forward and answered. "Zephyr." There was a brief silence. Whatever it was, it wasn't good news. "…Got it. What about Cinder?" Another pause. Tai heard Zephyr stop talking, but it was a good few seconds before Qrow responded. "I'll keep that in mind. See if you can find an instruction manual." There was a response.

Qrow hung up and dropped the scroll on the table before putting his head in his hands.

Tai was terrified to ask. But… "What is it?"

Qrow leaned back and took another swig. "…Ginger came back early. She's in the simulator with him."

…

Tai took a deep breath.

Then another.

"So…Seven days."

Another week before he would be safe.

For them.

"There have been people that have gone in after it's been activated. Will still be seven days for you, but I might make it shorter for him. Just need to figure out how." Qrow didn't look convinced.

Flimsy.

Probably wouldn't work.

 _But Mercury now has an undetermined amount of time with Ginger. Dammit._

Ginger was kept in line by 'behave or I'll take your toy away'. Tai was worried that would become 'if I can't have him, no one can'.

"Cinder?"

"Not there."

They could rule out the Maiden then.

That gave them a better chance.

"W-Well, if he's in the simulator, it stops someone going down and killing him when you're on higher floors."

Qrow gave him a look that echoed Tai's feelings perfectly.

That wasn't much comfort.

It wasn't any comfort.

"It solves our problem with Emerald."

That was a comfort.

Qrow's scroll rang.

They didn't need to look at it to know who was on the other end.

"I'll bring him home. I promise."

A promise they had been making for 19 weeks.

A promise that would finally be fulfilled.

* * *

The fleet was ready to launch. The brief had been done an hour ago.

General James Ironwood ran over the strategies once more, searching for weaknesses. This had been the cause for the day delay when Qrow had found a suitable method of breaching the force-field around the prison. While he was satisfied, James knew a plan was only good until one engaged the enemy.

The doors to the bridge opened.

James turned to see the men he called for. "Petil, Grayham. Your brief has changed slightly." They stood to attention. "Qrow's son is now in the time simulator. Your mission remains the same, protecting Qrow Branwen, but he will be aiding in the entire assault, not a recon mission. You will have more backup, but remember: he put at least fifty of these people in this prison. Understood?"

""Yes sir.""

These two were his best men. He had worked with them for over twenty years and he entrusted the most important missions to them.

They saluted.

"Permission to speak sir?" Petil asked.

"At ease, both of you."

They relaxed into a less formal stance.

"What are the current targets? Are there records of the greatest threats?"

James sighed. "Unfortunately not. We lost those records when the virus struck. Qrow is likely to know and will tell you if you ask. However, how he brought some of them in could result in him not knowing if they have aura or Semblances. All hostiles are to be treated as fatal threats."

Grayham spoke then. "If the information was wrong and the son is not in the time simulator, do we follow Huntsman Branwen or stay with the group?"

That was a valid concern given that it was Zephyr Solgale that provided the information. "In that situation, nothing is going to stop him from finding him. You are to remain with him and call for backup if the situation requires."

Grayham had a son the same age as Mercury Black, so he understood that parental instinct. Petil had no current family, but originally joined the army for 'failing to save his daughter', despite others disagreeing.

"General," Petil started slowly. "I understand there were medics on standby?"

James nodded. "There were originally four ships, fully staffed. This has been reduced to three." The fourth had been for Black exclusively, so would be sent later in the week. If they were wrong, then there were enough medical supplies on the three to ensure he would live long enough for the fourth to arrive. "They will remain on the air strip, but won't come into range until the control room is secured. Standard procedure for those that have been injured in battle."

Securing the control room was their first objective.

"What about their prisoners?"

James took a deep breath. "It is highly unlikely that there will be any other prisoners other than Qrow's son. However, if you do find anyone, call it in. I trust your judgement in that scenario, including whether to continue with Qrow or stay with the individual."

The sea was unpredictable and James was sure there were more bodies buried there than those that washed up on shores. But he would never know.

They responded with a solemn nod.

"If there is nothing else, go prepare. We leave in an hour."

They saluted once more and left the bridge.

James' attention returned to the holograph blueprints.

There would be no Atlesian Knights on this mission; there was no guarantee the prison didn't have access to the same virus that infected them. While the virus in the CCT had been dealt with and the machines altered accordingly, it was very simple to alter it in order to achieve the same result.

Their current information stated that there was little security past the force-fields and most of that was done by the Atlesian Knights that were originally guards within the prison. The original criminals within though were mostly unknowns now, both in number and ability.

That was one reason why James was relieved Qrow was accompanying them despite his main reason not being available until seven days' time.

He was also relieved his fleet would not be engaging the force-field itself, but he was a little uneasy at using an unpredictable Grimm aura animal to do the job, especially as its predecessor had destroyed nearly half said fleet. The only reason he agreed was that he didn't want to lose any men. It was inevitable in battle, but that particular battle was very one-sided in the enemy's favour.

Once LiaGuard was under control, then there would be a discussion of what to do with it.

In this case, James would relent to Qrow's original suggestion of destroying the time simulator. It was far too easy to abuse and, even if it was used for training, it would be very difficult to objectively oversee that training.

It would be best to go check on the fleet.

* * *

Qrow ran his hand across the jaw of the Grimm aura animal.

He stepped back.

The creature began to grow. Larger and larger. When it was in the air, it would grow further.

 _If this doesn't work-_

It would work.

His family saw him off. Hugs from the kids. Tai didn't; didn't want to give them the idea Qrow wasn't coming back. A pat on the back and a mock threat to sell his stuff.

Qrow's transport wasn't an airship, but the Grimm aura dragon. That had been his choice and the General hadn't argued with it. In return, Qrow wasn't going to argue too much about an escort, provided they understood how to stay out of his way.

It didn't grow too large. There was no need to smash your own fleet due to your size.

Ironwood parked his fleet just outside the force-field and made no attempt to approach. With so many small spaces and cells, the plan was to try and draw as many people as possible out of those nooks and crannies. The Atlesian Knights were also a problem due to their equipment.

A problem that Qrow did not need help with, but Ironwood was on the first ship to approach and would be taking the lead.

There would be no wall of expendable robots out front this time.

The fleet were positioned at the same level around the prison.

Qrow started higher, directly above the prison.

Then the Grimm aura dragon screeched and shot down.

There was a swift yellow then blue glass shatter appearance in the air, but for less than a second. The wings crashed into the two turrets on either side of the platform.

But that took every bit of aura the creature had.

Qrow was ready.

He jumped off, rolled to soften his landing on the platform and quickly set to work. There were three Knights on the platform and using the ships' guns could destroy the only landing pad they had.

Three Knights down in two seconds.

Nothing.

 _I'm sorry._

It had been a long shot, but the sacrifice of the Grimm aura dragon hadn't gone to waste. It might be what saved its creator.

The scrapheaps were flicked into the sea.

Ironwood landed on the platform, gun out and ready for battle.

Still, the heavy plated steel doors remained closed.

Qrow headed closer to the entrance, giving the ships more room. He kept his sword up, muscles tense and ready for action. This was where they were most vulnerable, but with the heavy cannons gone, there shouldn't be anything that could take out airships.

 _Key word there being 'shouldn't'._

Expected numbers of the prison were around 300, Knights included.

There were 800 Atlas military.

Qrow couldn't really call it overkill as he had no idea what a lot of people here could do. Most Atlas personnel had their aura unlocked, but that was all. With an army here, many of the Huntsmen in the military were still in Atlas; scattered around the continent.

There had been one attack on the Dust mines by human Grimm. That was somewhere they could not afford to lose. Five silver Dust weapons from Marcus Black's stash had been gifted to their defenders.

Qrow had an idea what he wanted to do with two weapons in particular.

That was for later.

One of the codebreakers started on the door. Qrow didn't know his name. A medic ship had landed and would be staying here to treat the injured. The medics themselves wouldn't leave the ship until the prison was secured.

Despite what he had been told, the room with the time simulator was still Qrow's personal target.

The codebreaker nodded and backed away, reaching for his weapon.

Qrow's two guards were at his side now. 'Petil' and 'Grayham' he was sure were their names. They and Ironwood exchanged some army salute. He was fond of them, Qrow noted. That they were assigned to guard him was quite a compliment.

Qrow's eyes met Ironwood's. They nodded to each other.

The doors slid open.

Laser fire shot past before the doors had even clicked. Recognising the lasers to be Atlesian Knights, no one immediately headed forward. Their weapons weren't enough to take out the empty airship as they had been designed to combat the small fry Grimm. The armour was too much.

Ironwood was listening to an earpiece. Then he shook his head.

Qrow ducked and spun, firing on the Knights before moving in. The entire hallway contained Knights, but there were no people. This made it much easier.

"I counted 21," Qrow stated as he and Ironwood stopped at the end of the corridor, in front of a lift.

"As did I. At maximum, we can expect 139 more." He glanced around at his men that had joined them. They hadn't lost anyone yet. "You know your targets. Squad 3 and 9, with us. Squad 10; backup."

Qrow was willing to bet both squads wouldn't fit in the lift. It was larger than most he had seen, but 30 people was its limit. This though was different than what had been in the blueprints. The original had only transported five at best. There was certainly space for it, but it made Qrow wonder what else was different.

 _Let's think…It's too cramped around the cells for big changes around there, but the control room is a very large space._

The control room was their first target.

The first lift down only contained Qrow, Ironwood, Petil and Grayham. More people and they lost the ability to manoeuvre. Then they were just cannon fodder for whatever or whoever was waiting for them.

Still, at least Qrow had seen enough that he was satisfied he wasn't babysitting the two men Ironwood had selected. There was a reason he preferred to work alone and, while his Semblance now had an off switch, Ironwood didn't know that. He must have faith in these men and that wasn't Qrow's problem.

As expected, they were attacked as soon as the door opened.

However, by staying low, the first volley went straight over their heads.

This time though, there weren't just Knights. There were people too, none that Qrow recognised. He counted fourteen people, of mixed genders and ages but no one under late twenty. No one here was small time, they wouldn't be here if they were small time, but they might not have their aura unlocked.

Either way, Qrow didn't care. He understood why they were trying to kill him, but he didn't care. He didn't necessarily want them dead; he just wanted them out of the way. He just didn't care if they were dead or unconscious.

Petil hit the up button on the lift before rolling out and staying behind a filing cabinet they were using for cover. That would call their reinforcements.

One of them had a grenade. Qrow saw them pull out the pin.

Ironwood aimed and threw something at that hand. The grenade was knocked out of the hand.

Qrow moved, twisting under the blasts. One man had a knife of some kind, but Qrow skidded under it. A snatch and a fling and the grenade was out the window.

None of the people here seemed bothered by the fact that grenade could have killed all of them.

They were willing to fight to the death.

Then Qrow realised he did recognise one of them. Halo Keen. He had aura and his Semblance was a little tricky. He could temporarily manipulate the air, being able to remove oxygen or create gusts of wind indoors.

Keen recognised him. Qrow was the one who put him in here, yet he didn't seem to care. He was more focused on Ironwood and mostly ignored Qrow.

Making a quick decision, Qrow aimed for the Knights. They could operate without oxygen. Humans could not. Keen most likely didn't care about friendly fire (he was in here for massacring his family and friends with a weapon he shouldn't have had), but it would help Qrow a lot if he took out his allies for him.

Interestingly, a pair of humans went down as soon as a shot hit them. They didn't have aura at all.

The first squad of reinforcements arrived.

 _That's the last of the Knights. Now for the people._

Another grenade landed on the floor.

Then it began to roll along the floor very unnaturally and changed direction every time someone tried to pick it up.

Qrow knew his target was Keen. Ironwood didn't and had dismissed him as a threat to focus on someone who was manipulating vines across the floor. Qrow hadn't even realised he had been instinctively avoiding them.

 _That is a very worrying oversight._

So was the fact he had also been avoiding ice on the floor. Who was responsible for that?

A quick glance around showed no females (an odd fact but not important right now), so it wasn't Maiden. Keen, he knew. The owl Faunus that Qrow would remember the name of as he was responsible for him too was the one controlling the vines (that hadn't been a fun job). Two others were bleeding, so they were most likely out.

That left the one in the far corner, who Qrow had initially thought had no aura at all.

He was also rather far from Keen and that grenade was going to go off any moment.

Ironwood had better pick up the pace, so Qrow should probably help by taking out the main one protecting him. Unlike these guys, Qrow did have a huge problem with getting blown to bits.

Luckily, the one controlling the vines also seemed to be ignoring him. Something was very off here, but Qrow would think on it later. It did make reaching Ice Man a lot easier.

Who then turned into a literal Ice Man when Qrow went to stab him.

 _Well, that is a very bizarre Semblance._

At least he had his attention. Due to the fact his first strikes did nothing and they had a few seconds to spar, Qrow thought he was safe in thinking that Keen had been dealt with or had at least been distracted enough to get rid of the grenade.

 _They have someone who can manipulate air, manipulate ice and manipulate vines. Why exactly are they not working together at all? This should be far more of a fight. This is challenging, but not as much as it should be._

Ice Man literally shattered when Qrow got an, admittedly lucky, stab straight into the heart. Ice scattered across the room; nothing human remaining. It was far from the first person Qrow had killed, but this one was going to stick with him for some time to come.

Keen was on the floor missing an arm. A second glance found he was bleeding from the stomach. He had a little while, but he would die without help.

The owl Faunus was unconscious with Ironwood putting handcuffs on him. There were no obvious injuries on him.

"Check them both with a scanner," Ironwood ordered as he straightened once more. "Then take them to the hallway upstairs and keep them there. Then send the computer experts down."

The air strip was empty. There wasn't much worry of them doing anything dangerous for now.

Qrow had headed straight for the closest console. He noted a group of six men leaving in the lift. With the two now gone and the other hostiles dead, he had other worries.

"Too easy. That was too easy."

"Agreed." Ironwood joined him. The screen was password locked. "The question is 'why'? Are there few people here or is there something else going on?"

"No need to move the Knights." Qrow counted the ones on the floor. 36. Qrow hadn't realised the room was genuinely that big. Looking at blueprints didn't do it justice. "There's this hallway here." The only thing that connected the control room to anything other than the lift and it led to an important office with a ladder for a fire escape. "There might be more there, but not many."

"Possibly."

The lift returned then. Four armed with guns came off first and stood ready to fire. Eight others appeared from the hidden spot next to the doors. Rather than guns, they carried some very expensive looking equipment.

Qrow stepped back and worked of his agitation by pacing.

"Something's off here General. I put Owl Guy and Air Nuisance in here. They weren't fighting properly."

"We have superior numbers and tactics."

Qrow wanted to punch Ironwood. "I get that. But with them having a load of Knights to hide behind and Semblances like that, along with aura shields, how did we only lose…" Qrow glanced over to check as they were tended to, "three people and six injured? There should have been far more. Especially as they didn't care about friendly fire."

A glance at his scroll showed his own aura at 63. So far so good if this was all they were dealing with.

But it couldn't be.

A techie looked up. "We're in to the basics."

Both Ironwood and Qrow came over. This screen was showing the blueprints they had studied, with the difference that it showed what was online and what wasn't.

 _Let's see…All doors unlocked, so we don't need to blast them open. Cells are open, so likely no other captives. Ah, that's what that button does. Heat signatures…show there are fourteen people that are inside this building, not including us. Nice for one thing. Not nice as it means most of them are wandering around civilisation._

"It's not well staffed," Petil noted. "The numbers are far lower than expected."

"They weren't expecting us," Ironwood mused. "Our jamming signal would have scrambled any message this prison tried to get out." Only now Qrow remembered that. "But that doesn't explain why there are so few here in the first place."

Qrow's hand went into his pocket and pulled the scroll out. He inputted the code, found the contact and called. He waited. For the final ring.

"Not a great time Qrow."

Qrow could guess that. He could hear yelling in the background, but couldn't make out the words. "Where are you Zephyr?"

"Outside the time cell. A few of the scientists are trying to finish a few of their projects. You've got an hour until they come out and I'm not sure where they'll be aiming. Got into the system yet?"

Most of the screens still showed random numbers and letters. "Getting there. Got the basic system running."

"Okay, when you get in, look for programme 'Pandora'. The access code is 93762 and the last digit is either 5 or 6. This guy had atrocious handwriting. That gets you into known information on the time simulator."

That was exactly what Qrow wanted to hear. "Thanks. But I've got a different problem. Three guys up here went down way too easily and I put two of them in here."

There was a brief pause. "They probably took it out on Mercury. They were expecting, in their words, 'cannon fodder wearing armour'. They weren't expecting you or Ironwood." There was another brief pause. "Hate to say it Qrow, but they've just killed the last of the kidnapped victims that were here."

That was a punch in the gut.

Qrow glanced at Ironwood. He shook his head slowly. His eyes closed for a moment.

"So all that's left are hostiles."

"Yeah. If it's any comfort, for some of them, death was a mercy."

"I bet it was." Right. They were short on time. "Are you safe right now Zephyr?"

Another pause. "Sure." Qrow didn't like the sound of that. Something was off. "I need to meet you Qrow. I can't make it to the simulator room, but there's a few things you need to know before you try to get in there early."

It could be a trap.

Qrow found he didn't care.

"Where can you get to?"

"I can't move, so you're going to have to come to me." That bad feeling got worse. "There's five people outside the lift waiting for you." Now he looked, Qrow could see them on the screen. "One has aura, the one with red hair. I don't know about the others."

"Any reason why it's understaffed?"

"A few are at some sort of event in Mistral." Not one Qrow had heard of but then it probably wasn't a kind of event Qrow would attend. Zephyr seemed to read his mind. "They don't plan on attracting attention. There weren't many victims here before they were killed compared to most of the time, so many are out looking for more." _Fucking dammit._ "…And Cinder's orders were that, for a normal week after his aura was ripped out, Mercury was to be left alone. Ginger was the first to break it today. Take a guess."

So these guys-

Qrow shook his head. "And they're not bothered by you having a chat with me?"

"Luckily, you called after they were out of hearing range. These guys are here for free boarding. They never expected having to defend it."

They couldn't have predicted that the Grimm aura dragon would smash the otherwise impenetrable defences.

"Weapons?"

"Honestly? God only knows. A lot of this place was experimentation as well as playground."

Hence all the kidnap victims. Qrow was very doubtful the test subjects' fates were any kinder than the sadists' victims' fates.

"I found out where my _loving_ mother went. She's taken an airship with two other ships and heading to Atlas. She's going for the Dust mines. This was yesterday. Her Semblance is that she can see through walls. One of the people with her can impersonate people if he drinks their blood."

Well, if that wasn't a creepy Semblance, Qrow didn't want to know what was.

He pulled the scroll away. Ironwood, who had been listening in to Qrow's half of the conversation, waved over two men.

"There are more kidnap victims expected, so warn all authorities. The Dust mines. One can impersonate people he drinks the blood from, so run checks against missing persons or people that were missing even for an hour or two. They left yesterday."

Ironwood narrowed his eyes. "Also, put everyone on high alert and make sure they have at least four people as an alibi at all times." Clever. It might not stop an assault, but four people stood a better chance at reporting it or seeing something amiss. "We have around five hours from here to the mines. Go!"

They went in a hurry.

Qrow returned to the call. "Anything else?"

"Watts hasn't been here for at least a week and he had a project going, but I've no idea what. Cinder is expected next Sunday. I don't have long, so you need to hurry up."

"Are you injured?" He should have thought of that before.

Zephyr laughed. A bittersweet one. "There's nothing anyone can do for me, but yeah. I'll be dead soon."

That…was a shame.

Qrow hadn't liked Zephyr and was sure he was responsible for some quite terrible things when he worked for Salem along with putting Mercury in that Tri-Nut Tournament, but…Well, Qrow knew far worse people. It wasn't much but, even after living with the guy for a while and knowing his history, Qrow didn't really know him.

Now, he wished he had paid him more attention.

"Right. The time cell is on the lowest floor."

"Careful Qrow. These guys _are_ going to try to kill you. I don't know what was up with the others, but these people will certainly put more effort in."

"On a scale of one to ten, using everyone that likes to come to this prison for fun, how bad are these guys?"

Zephyr took a moment to consider. "Sadism wise, around 4. Competence wise…probably around 4 as well."

Even the most weak of animals was dangerous when cornered or angered and they would be both.

"Got it."

"I've got to go." The line went dead.

Ironwood gave him a moment. "Anything I need to know?"

"Save for the fact the welcoming committee down there is going to be far more welcoming to me than the ones up here, not really. I need to get down there."

"A possible trap. But he has been reliable and accurate so far, if not vague. But I don't think you going down in the first wave is a good idea."

"The term 'cannon fodder' came up," Qrow stated bluntly. Ironwood bristled, but Qrow continued before he could respond to the insult. "Your men are trained against Grimm and know the weak point on a Knight. There are probably quite a few there, but these are insane killers. At the kindest. There are also experimental weapons there in an hour."

That made him consider. He looked at the nearest codebreaker, the same one that opened the first door. "How long until we can see the cameras?"

"Not long, sir. Five minutes at most. This isn't the biggest security this prison has and is the equivalent of logging off rather than implementing the security protocols. A few more minutes and we'll have everything."

"Don't suppose they have guns in the hallways?" Qrow asked. He hadn't seen anything on the blueprints that suggested it, but he would take it.

"No."

"But there could be," Ironwood murmured. He cleared his throat. "As I recall, this level is the only level that is completely isolated save for the lift. There are stairs connecting the other floors, correct?"

That…might help.

"Yes sir, but there are only two stairways to that level while there are at least five for the others." Who designed this place? "These are the stairs," he pointed, "and this is the lift." Again, he pointed. "This is the cell itself." It was slap bang in the middle.

There was a brief silence.

Qrow didn't have a military mind, but as he scanned the floor, a potential problem was obvious. "You could almost certainly fit all the remaining Knights on that floor." They were only a nuisance, but there were a lot of them and they were very good as a wall.

"They're responsive to electrical pulses," Grayham offered. "Is there a way to use that?"

The numbers on the screen vanished. Qrow couldn't make sense of the images that took their place. "There is a scan to detect that at the main entrance, but that can be extended to a specific level in the case of a breach."

"Can you amplify it?" Ironwood asked.

The man hit the keys. "Err…One floor only using the backup generator. This main power supply is routed to the shields and is pre-set to fix them as soon as they went down. In around three hours, they'll be operational again."

That would make it much more difficult to lose, but Qrow wasn't sure it would stand up to Maiden power as it hadn't been designed with that in mind.

But Cinder wasn't the big problem at the moment.

"What happens to someone who gets hit by this pulse?"

The man didn't answer immediately. "I'm not sure. I don't have any experience in medicine. However, EMP bombs are not designed for use against humans or Faunus, so my thought would be they don't work well."

There were life signs scattered all over the prison.

Qrow wasn't interested in them.

Zephyr was his first target. Then he would go to the time simulator and see if he could enter it while it was in use.

"It would overload the Knights," Ironwood dipped his head. "And they would need to be restarted manually. It is rather unlikely any of them would have the knowledge or equipment to do so and we won't give them the time."

Ironwood moved away to talk to his men, no doubt organising a strike. Qrow left him to it; he accepted this wasn't his element and he would go along with whatever Ironwood decided, within reason.

Instead, he stayed near the console.

After a few minutes of discussion within the Atlas personnel, Qrow heard the news he had been waiting for.

"We're in. Give the order and I can emit the pulse."

Qrow leaned over. "Take a look at programme 'Pandora'. The access code is 93762. Last digit is a 5 or a 6."

He obeyed. It was a 5.

Pictures appeared first. The machine was oblong in shape, with an indent in the middle and a tiny cylinder which was almost certainly the entry point. There was an odd envelope like slot farther along. Half of the oblong 'sides' were fused into the wall and the machine completely covered the back wall, which was at least 10 feet tall. There was a console along the entire side wall.

"That room's got to be as big as this one," Qrow muttered.

"It is." The techie began to shift through the data. "What exactly are you looking for? That runs on its own system."

"Looking for a way to get in early. Someone is quite sure it has happened before."

He frowned. "Such as go in when there are already people in it and the scenario has started?" Qrow nodded. "I'll look, but I'm not optimistic. This is far more complicated than I have ever seen."

"Just let me know."

Ironwood approached again. His gaze went to the data on the screen, then to Qrow. It then went to one of the men on the far end. He approached him quickly. "Brady. Can you operate the EMP from this terminal?" A few clicks later, the man nodded. "Then that is your responsibility."

The man next to Qrow spoke up. "Should I stay on this?"

"Yes. Let me know if you have results or need anything." Ironwood beckoned Qrow to follow him. Reluctantly, Qrow followed. But the sooner they controlled the entire prison, the safer it would be. "The plan is simple and adaptable. The squads will remain on the level above, as will you and I. The pulse will be emitted, then we move in. Three squads will be with you and two with me. If they target you, you will have backup." Not a bad plan, even if working with others was a habit Qrow really wasn't used to, but no obvious faults so far. "We should have control over that level before the hour is up."

"And then? Who knows what they'll come out with." They could come out with nothing, but Qrow didn't think that likely.

"There are store rooms scattered along that floor. Those can be used as an ambush."

Qrow gave him a blunt stare. "How strong are your men's stomachs? What is stored in there is going to give them nightmares."

No less than fifteen men stepped forward.

"We know the risks." Ironwood's voice was harder. He had seen the state of the few bodies that had washed up. "We are willing to do so."

 _So…Ironwood himself huh?_

"However, there was a strong belief that you should not."

A lot of his people nodded at that.

Ironwood had briefed the men here that Qrow's stake was his son. They had also been briefed about the type of people they were dealing with. It wasn't difficult to put two and two together.

Honestly, Qrow appreciated it. Even if he was annoyed at the fact they knew. He didn't even want to try to argue.

"Thanks."

Ironwood nodded once. "Then let's move."

The control room was as good as it said: it had complete control over the lift. While there were levels that had heat signatures, the lift ignored them completely. The trip down was smooth and uneventful.

Before they separated, Qrow was given an earpiece that was connected to someone watching the cameras above. Wanting to take as little damage as possible, Qrow put it in place and responded when the voice asked him to raise a fist. It was working.

The separation occurred as soon as they stepped out of the lift.

No one was on this floor according to the heat signatures. They didn't meet anyone.

Qrow knelt at the top of the stairs. He could just make out the outline of a Knight on the lower floor. Petil and Grayham were at his side. Petil signed to go down first, but Qrow shook his head.

He was the bait after all. If they were focused on him, they should be easier targets for the soldiers.

So far, they had managed to avoid shooting Qrow, so most of them were fantastic shots. Qrow might not like the Atlas military, but when they were genuinely needed, they were very competent.

"Stand by," the voice in his ear said. "EMP in five. Four. Three. Two. One."

Qrow didn't hear anything at first.

The Knight he could see jolted in place as if electrocuted. After four seconds of this, it fell forwards completely. One more spasm and it stayed still.

 _Well. That worked remarkably well._

"Done."

Qrow leapt over the banister and rolled when he hit the floor. His first slash took out someone who had been standing almost in a daze.

He certainly got their attention.

 _Five I can see._

Qrow didn't immediately recognise them, but the red head made him think of ropes and wires. It would be wise to keep her away from the Knights.

Which, looking around, was going to be nigh on impossible.

The one Qrow had tripped must have some kind of training. He got up almost immediately.

 _This is going to be very difficult._

Within seconds, Qrow came to a decision.

All of them were gunning for him. While he could dodge (not very easily but he could manage), he never got the chance to exploit any openings. He didn't have time and it would drain his energy far too quickly. It also increased the chance of him getting shot.

It was tempting to shift to bird, but Qrow urged that away. Not only did he need to keep that secret, morphing a bird was going to attract Atlas' attention and he needed them to blast the people trying to kill him.

Qrow did switch off his Ring. The closer he was to someone and the longer he was close to them, the quicker and more dangerous his Semblance became.

The military personnel were keeping their distance from the fight. Even Ironwood, though he was slightly closer than most of the others. However, Qrow kept dodging and manipulating his position that friendly fire for his enemies was a problem. The corridor was also narrow, only allowing three people side by side, so there was a significant proximity difference between friend and foe.

It started small. An occasional foot where they would trip on a Knight.

Then it got worse for them. Stepping into a spot where a bullet would land. Taking their eyes away from an ally just in time to miss them attacking and getting caught in the crossfire. Someone forgetting to look back and hitting an ally by accident.

Qrow's luck on the other hand was holding. He had yet to be hit.

 _Okay, I was asking for that smack._

At least there wasn't much room to swing when he did as he would have hit the wall. As it was, it only knocked off 20 of his aura. Qrow would take that over his head coming off.

That man was taken down fast.

Ironwood broke ranks and charged at the red head. Not expecting that, she miscalculated dodging Qrow's strike and was struck right in the chest with a point blank shot from Ironwood's heavy gun. She went flying back. Qrow moved fast, crashing the blunt side of his sword against her head. Her aura shattered and she was knocked out.

Three down. Qrow didn't know what took the third down, but he found he didn't care.

There went the fourth.

This final woman wasn't attacking at all, but her dodges were almost inhuman and Qrow was quite sure physically impossible. However, when the fourth ally had gone down, she had skidded onto her knees and had her hands up in surrender.

Qrow backed off a little while Ironwood and two of his men approached.

But she didn't cause any trouble. She allowed herself to be cuffed, registered no aura and went upstairs without problems.

 _Huh. Wasn't expecting that._

"There's another heat signature on the stairs," Qrow had nearly forgotten about the earpiece, "but it's weaker than the rest. It's not on the cameras."

"That's fine." Qrow had noticed there was no sign of Zephyr, but he had also forgotten his body wasn't natural. Had the EMP affected him? He made sure the Ring was active again. If the signature was on the stairs, Zephyr must be under them.

But the first body he saw wasn't Zephyr. "Basil?" He had seen the photos and had seen him fight in the Vytal Festival. He was now dead, a gunshot wound in his head.

Zephyr wasn't looking better. There was a good size hole in his chest that his hand couldn't completely cover. "We got into an argument."

Qrow knelt down and tried to get a better look. There was blood, but given as this should be over his heart, there wasn't enough. He caught a flicker of colour as Zephyr pressed down harder, but it was covered quickly.

"Don't bother," Zephyr sighed. "My time should have been up years ago. I'm fine with this."

Ironwood's scroll rang. He moved away to answer it. At least Qrow didn't have to ask for space. His gaze went back to Zephyr.

"Anything I can do?"

"…Don't let Ironwood take me. I want to be buried next to my siblings. I showed Mercury once, in the simulator. He knows where it is. He promised."

Death was something Qrow didn't think should really be messed with and he certainly didn't like the idea of transferring souls into different bodies. "You have my word."

Zephyr nodded, then winced. "Bad idea." He took a deep breath. "Qrow, about Mercury…You must have seen them. How powerful they were. Cinder knows he's too dangerous. I'm sure there's a kill switch in him."

Kill.

Switch.

"Do you know what?" If that triggered…

"No. Sorry. But I'm sure it's there. And if his immune system's that good, he might be able to tell you himself. That needs to be removed as soon as possible. But they don't want to get it wrong, so probably not a bomb."

Small comfort.

Zephyr's hand started to slip.

Qrow lifted it and pushed it against his chest again. He felt something there, but it seemed…smooth. He didn't dwell on it. "Ironwood might be able to save you."

"Don't want it."

Qrow suspected that, but he had needed to ask. "I'm sorry."

Zephyr chocked out a laugh. "Doubt it. But thanks anyway. Just…remember Qrow. Remember what Ginger did to Emerald?" Scarred her. Branded her. "You'll see…something on him too. Just don't lose focus. Ginger's dangerous when her opponent's at full strength. You're not."

Very blunt. Very true.

"I'm still going after him."

"…Thought so. I don't know what or who you'll find, so be careful. Just don't hesitate if you see someone you know. It's not them."

"That's not ominous at all."

…

"Good luck Qrow."

"Feel like I'm going to need all of it." And then some.

"You know…I asked around…And I know why you wanted him to learn sword fighting." Someone here probably had an ancestor that was an Aura Wielder then. "Here. This should suit him." Zephyr's eyes closed.

The fist clenched and pulled back.

Qrow jolted and let go.

Zephyr didn't move. At all.

 _He's…dead. I'm sorry._

Qrow swallowed. His eyes instinctively went to Zephyr's hand.

Sitting there was a Dust crystal. It was untouched by tools, a very natural shape. It hadn't been processed. Half of it was black. Half of it was multiple colours, every colour Dust Qrow had ever seen except for black.

Not a drop of blood on it.

Tentatively, Qrow took it.

 _Rest in peace Zephyr. Take care of Lake and Dakota._

Qrow stood up and headed over to Petil. "His name's Zephyr. I'll take care of his burial. Can you take him somewhere until I can?"

Petil frowned. His eyes went from Qrow to Zephyr and back to Qrow again. "I'll see what I can do."

"Either way, he's not to be used in experiments."

"Of course not!" He was insulted by that.

"Know his history?"

"No."

"Then don't be insulted by that. He's right to expect it." The consideration was back. "Thanks for this."

Petil just nodded. "The General wanted to talk to you. He headed to the time simulator."

Qrow hoped that meant there was good news, but he carefully kept control of it. "I'll head up then."

The lift was empty when he reached it. He rode it up alone.

 _Come on Silvertongue. Hold on a little longer._

The lift opened up into a small square. On the right was a very well stocked bathroom, but it wasn't too large or too small. But compared to the simulator room, it was tiny.

Now he saw it, Qrow thought this room might be bigger than the control room. He didn't think on why.

Ironwood was by the control panels and was speaking with someone that wasn't dressed as a soldier. He looked vaguely familiar. Ignoring manners, Qrow headed straight for them.

Neither man were bothered by his interruption. Ironwood was very troubled and didn't look happy to see him.

"Qrow, this is Dr Murphy. He studied under Dr Waterbrook."

Now Qrow remembered. Murphy had been at Beacon infirmary a few times when Qrow was a student there. Dr Waterbrook had been on the fourth medic airship, which was supposed to leave from Vale. When Mercury was confirmed in the time simulator, it never left Vale.

"I thought the medic ships hadn't landed yet."

"I risked coming on one of the others, but I wasn't needed." So the ones in the control room either didn't make it or had been evacuated already. "This space is large enough for some life support equipment, so it saves time for Mr Black."

They could turn this room into a hospital.

"Can you get the equipment here?"

"With a fixed date of a week, yes."

Ironwood spoke then. "So far, we've learned that this slot in the machine will generate a medical report for live people that return from the simulator scenarios and maps. By the filing in the control room, the medical report they had on Mr Black would be placed there and it would be updated automatically when he returned. Until then, the doctors cannot view it." So any internal problems had to be countered with no way to foresee them. "Dr Waterbrook is still arriving soon and has said he will bring the one he has."

The last check-up Mercury had had was immediately after they 'returned' from the magical world. That was very out of date in comparison to his condition now.

"Zephyr said there's a good chance of there being a…kill switch in him."

"The medical scanner will pick up anything manmade," Dr Murphy assured. Remembering when he was loaned one, Qrow could (reluctantly) trust that. "We were able to get a tox report on a few victims during autopsy, so we can check for some of those. He's in very good hands."

Qrow swallowed.

Ironwood put a hand on his shoulder for a moment before stepping back to the console. "So far, we have found a way to enter the simulator now. However, there is no guarantee of when you will arrive by their point of view. You could arrive an hour after he went in. You could arrive years after he went in."

Qrow knew that. He was going in and making sure that Mercury's time spent within was minimal.

"There should be a blue portal that will bring you back as there isn't a set time for the inside. As for the scenario, it is only titled 'Home'."

 _So I need to find a portal to get out. Might be smart to look for that as I search for him and not after._

Qrow blinked. "'Home'?" He stalked forward and stared over Ironwood's shoulder.

There was a list on this small screen. Five options from above to below. 'Haunted'; which could be anything. 'High School'; which Qrow had very bad worries about. 'Home'; which was highlighted in green. 'Hospital' was rather self-explanatory and Qrow made a promise not to leave Mercury alone when he was with the doctors. 'Hostel' was another that left plenty to the imagination.

No doubt there were far, far more scenarios and maps on this list. Did Qrow really want to know how many Mercury had been forced through?

"Any ideas?"

Qrow shook his head. "Whatever it is, I bet it's not going to be his home." Ginger had no way of knowing what Patch looked like. Those memories were blocked. So she couldn't recreate that.

"It could be hers, wherever that is." Ironwood gently guided him over to a different screen. There were two green dots and one orange one. "As we understand this, the green dots are two real people inside the simulator and the orange one is a character programmed by the user."

One green dot was Mercury. He was still alive. The other was Ginger. She had to die; she couldn't come after the kids again. The orange one could be anyone, based on a real person or not. No doubt they were as sadistic as the one who programmed the scenario.

"Get me in." It was an order.

Ironwood hesitated. "We can, but I would advise you to wait for your aura to recharge-" Qrow glared and opened his mouth to argue, but Ironwood continued before he could. "Qrow, you have been fighting on the front lines since you arrived. Much time might not have passed, but you did take damage. From all the information we have on Ginger, she is not going to go down quickly and this second one will help her. You need every advantage you can get. Only one person can go in after the map starts."

Qrow was still going to argue.

But Mercury needed his aura just as much as Qrow did.

Qrow swallowed his tongue. He checked his scroll to be sure. 43. 43 aura. That wasn't much and he couldn't rely on his Semblance because Mercury might be far too close and would feel the effects. The fight with Ginger was going to be tough enough as she could trap him in his memories if she touched him, so he couldn't allow that. Qrow couldn't afford to lose.

 _43 aura…If I rest, even take a nap, I should be back to full in…2 hours._

Could Qrow wait two hours?

Could Mercury wait for however long?

Could Silvertongue manage _without_ an aura boost from Felix? With an almost certain kill switch in him?

 _Dammit._

 _Damn it._

 _Damn it!_

"Get it ready. The minute I'm back to full, I'm going in."

The other two men seemed to relax. The techie at the controls started pressing buttons.

Qrow let out a long breath. It felt like a mistake. He was sure this was a mistake.

 _Please don't let this be a mistake._


	13. Father

**In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Beacon had been oddly quiet this week.

Classes had continued as normal, but there had been no pranks or anything too wild. Combat Classes seemed to have toned down a little as the students, even ones that were fierce enemies, held back much more than they would.

That made it much easier on Dr Birch. He hadn't had any patients this week.

Dr Waterbrook had taken temporary leave six days ago.

Ever since, the children had started to behave themselves and became very docile.

There may have been no official confirmation for them, but they weren't stupid. They knew of the large number of kidnappings recently. Mercury had disappeared at the Vytal Festival and it was obvious from REY's behaviour what happened to him. They were out of Beacon at the moment and had been for six days. The students had put it together.

 _Is that why there is no one going to the infirmary?_

The lift chimed.

Ozpin spun the chair around to see Glynda with two mugs of coffee. He smiled as he took one.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Glynda took a sip from her own. "It's been a long week."

"Despite nothing happening for us," Ozpin agreed. "There is a dark cloud around the whole school."

"Ida learned of her cousin's death this week. That has since got around, so everyone knows. One of the officers gave her all the gruesome details." Ozpin closed his eyes. "He has since been suspended for that insensitivity."

Ozpin's scroll rang.

"It's James." Glynda rolled her eyes as he answered. "General. How can I help you?"

"I had an inquiry Headmaster Ozpin. My second year students are due to take supervised missions next week, but I would prefer it if they were not conducted in Atlas."

Ozpin leaned back in his chair, staring into his coffee. He knew that until this shapeshifter at least was found, Atlas was dangerous to those who weren't fully trained against real dangers. "My third years have already chosen." Each school had a different year group for this precise reason. "I'll send through a list that would be suitable. However, keep in mind that the White Fang was seen a few months ago along with Cinder herself just outside the Kingdom." Nothing else had been reported, but it had been pure luck Ruby had stumbled across that.

"I haven't forgotten. Thanks Oz."

"And tomorrow?"

There was a brief silence. "The doctors have done all they can for the moment. All they can hope for is that Black can be treated and Qrow is still alive."

"…Thank you."

Tomorrow was going to be rough on that family. Throughout his many lifetimes, Ozpin had never come across any individual like Mercury Black. It was a relief, but Ozpin could guess at what 'home' really meant.

Qrow was in for a very traumatic experience, even with his background.

"Any news on Venus Solgale?"

"None. I will keep you updated on that. If you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

"As do I. Good luck James."

James hung up.

Ozpin took a deep gulp of coffee before he began to look through missions around Vale and the neighbouring area. He could think of a few that would be suitable for second years.

The difficulty were the inmates of the prison that were currently roaming around civilisation. Very few had been found. He would make sure to check the current news on the nearby villages before sending the potential mission off.

With so many Huntsmen being killed by human Grimm, there were many more jobs recently.

* * *

Qrow should have known.

How had he not?

'Home'.

It was bizarre; that a house could look so normal on the outside. The room that a guest first stepped into was little more than a meeting room with chairs and side tables to go with the lights.

Step into the locked hallway and reality seemed to shatter.

The normal trick of suppressing emotions wouldn't work here.

Qrow started down mechanically and searched methodically.

Mercury really didn't like having his photo taken. There were photos of him on every wall. Different ages, from around 2 to 16. Many of them in every room. In them, the child was either humiliated, in agony or, in most, both.

Mercury got up at a ridiculous hour, near four in the morning every day. There was an alarm clock by the full bath, with water all over the floor. Didn't take a closer look; didn't need the photos to know. His alarm clock every day had been being drowned.

There were two shower heads, both with chains and shackles over them. There were three temperatures pre-set: freezing cold, boiling hot or nicely warm. Each one was separate from the other.

Mercury only helped in the kitchen when he was specifically asked. There was nothing to protect the hot cooker from a child and the grill was a little too low than was safe. Some of those photos did have burns from metal as well as scolding hot water.

The dining room looked normal at first glance. So did the connected living room. Looking around the cupboards and shelves, there were a lot of drugs among other things. None labelled. For once, this was out of a child's reach. Qrow picked a water bottle out of the fridge. It looked sealed. He tipped it upside down and placed his palm against it. There were drops on his hand.

In the back of his mind, Qrow remembered the trip he and the kids had taken in the London Dungeon tourist attraction. While the girls were very bothered by the stuff they saw, they still had that morbid curiosity many kids and teens had. Mercury had been bored and had seemed to bite his tongue a few times. He had had a real Iron Maiden in 'his bedroom' which had obviously seen use for years. Maybe he had been about to point out was what incorrect before he stopped himself.

Not wanting to go in their room without their permission, Tai had asked if they knew how to change the beds. Being given two blank looks, he had shown them how to change the sheets and make the bed. Mercury's 'bed' was nothing more than a single mattress that was soaked through with blood along with things like acid and spikes within it. Not even a blanket to keep warm. Every inch of the mattress surrounded by bloody chains or ropes.

Qrow didn't look in the cabinet. It was small and the only thing that it could hold was clothes. Mercury hadn't packed many when he was going to leave after Yang threw him out.

Compared to Emerald, Mercury didn't tend to watch TV. There were a few odd shows (mostly quiz shows he was getting quite good at except celebrities and soaps), but it wasn't a pastime for him. The TV in 'his bedroom' only connected to a video player. The videos were extensions of pictures or had incidents that didn't make it onto the walls.

Nothing else in the bedroom save for the photos on the walls. Literally nothing.

Marcus had many restraints in his own bedroom too, along with furniture to tie his son to. There was a wardrobe along with bedside cabinets and a lamp. The photos in this room were of Mercury when he was older. A teenager at least. Qrow didn't look in the storage places.

Qrow now knew what happened on Mercury's 13th birthday. Or, to be more accurate, what _started_ on his 13th birthday.

It was never the ridiculous education that had been Mercury's problem with pureblood magicals, although that was an annoyance. It had been inbreeding. Qrow had misjudged the reason why.

A large cupboard in the hallway past Marcus' room had a blue swirl seven foot high and three feet across. That was the portal back to reality. No sign of what had been in it in reality.

The centre room was a study. There wasn't much in here that wasn't used in planning assassinations or thefts, but there were still restraints in sight in a corner. Not much blood though.

It had taken Mercury quite a bit of time to be in a room with Qrow or Tai before he would turn his back to them. He had always been on alert; never letting his guard down, even around Yang until at least starting Beacon. He was still like that around all the teachers. Even some of the other students.

Mercury only felt safe around his new family.

And that had taken a lot of time and effort from both sides.

 _Never mind any humanity. How the hell had he gotten out of this house with any sanity?_

Qrow stopped.

He had been around the entire house. He had opened every proper door there had been. There wasn't a second floor.

So how did you get into the basement?

Marcus was a nutter.

But Qrow hadn't realised how sadistic he really was. His victims were normally killed quickly unless they had information he needed. That was part of what made him so dangerous.

Mercury had seen a very different Marcus than most.

Honestly, no matter how much it sickened him, Qrow hoped that was the one he encountered here. Marcus was the most feared assassin on Remnant for the past one hundred years for a _reason_ and most of his ancestors had been assassins. That one Qrow was very sure he would lose to.

But _this_ Marcus (and Qrow was very sure that was the orange dot) would have been created from what Ginger had seen in Mercury's memories. How often had Mercury seen him in action? At least enough to respect his skill as a killer.

That wasn't counting Ginger.

All three must be in the basement. It was the only place Qrow hadn't checked.

But how to get there?

It was ridiculous that there would be a hidden switch. No one would be willing to go farther down that corridor and, from the looks of it, Mercury had spent most of his life chained down. There was no reason he would _want_ to go down there.

But the man had built this house with torture specifically in mind and this was _not_ training no matter what Mercury claimed. Why else have two shower heads? The Iron Maiden? The numerous stands that were design to restrain?

 _Bad line of thought. Marcus was more deranged than anyone knew. Unless…_

Where _had_ Mercury's mother been through all this?

Qrow had assumed Mercury had never met her. He had never spoken about her. He had run Mercury's DNA through the criminal database and, other than Marcus Black (or Plate Seam as was thought his 'real' name by police), the other was a prostitute that had been killed-

Around the time of Mercury's 16th birthday.

Maybe Mercury _had_ met her. When he was old enough.

If there had been a stranger to this house, maybe there were a few things Marcus would want to keep hidden. But if someone came into this house and saw the main hallway alone, they would have to be a nutter not to care. There was some dust on those photos. They weren't new.

 _And for them to be so clear and detailed, Mercury has to remember them that well. And there's nowhere where there's a picture missing. He remembers all of it. Before or after Ginger's Semblance? Thinking back, almost certainly before._

Qrow returned to the meeting room. That was the only room with a connection to outside. Only then did Qrow realise the 'windows' in the other rooms were reinforced.

 _Doesn't matter now. The switch isn't going to be in here. A lot of clients came in here._

Save for the pictures, there wasn't anything in the long hallway that snaked around to the other rooms. He really didn't want to touch those _framed_ photos; didn't want to confirm them as real.

Nothing was loose in the bathroom. No surprise there. Everything would be nailed down. Mercury would struggle.

 _If Mercury was trained to fight while forced to wear chains, why was he never strong enough to break free? There were only three broken in sixteen years…Maybe he was drugged quite often._

There was nothing in here.

The next room along was the bare essential sleeping room.

The mattress didn't move when Qrow kicked it. It was very firmly in place, with enough room to walk around. A shove showed the wardrobe was the same and the Iron Maiden had been built into the wall, which looked wooden from the outside.

…

Why wouldn't Qrow be surprised if that was where the switch was? When the door closed, it would be pitch black in there-

Qrow rolled to the side.

He glanced up.

 _So. This is Marcus._

The authorities had the DNA. They had a lot to suggest he was responsible for deaths as he often left a symbol by his victims, possibly to assure his client that he was the one who killed them. The symbol didn't match what he was wearing.

The one thing the authorities _didn't_ have was a photograph of the man.

Looking closely, Qrow couldn't see any physical features this man shared with Mercury. There had been a photo of Mercury's mother and he shared nothing with her either. He looked absolutely nothing like his parents, not even his eye colour. If it wasn't for the DNA, no one would believe they were related.

 _At least he doesn't see anything of them when he looks in a mirror._

Right now, Qrow should be worrying about the fact Marcus had managed to sneak up on him so well, instinct was the only thing that stopped him from being _in_ that Iron Maiden right now.

Marcus dashed forward, a knife flashing-

That was identical to the one in Qrow's possession right now.

 _Of course. The silver Dust weapons; their replicas would be here too. That might have been what was originally in the cupboard._

In any other room in this house, Qrow would struggle. His way of using a knife was for a sneak attack. He wasn't used to one to use it in a proper knife fight and he certainly wasn't going to challenge Marcus to one. Mercury hadn't needed training from them to be deadly with that knife.

However, this room was bigger than it should be for what was in it. Qrow had room to swing his sword around and he didn't care if he broke anything.

He wanted to break things.

He wanted to burn this whole place to the ground _as it deserved._

Qrow wasn't sure which one of them destroyed the TV but good fucking riddance.

Within seconds of Qrow overpowering him with a longsword, despite the fact Marcus should be too close for it to properly work, Marcus switched tactics.

Qrow _felt_ the electricity.

He just didn't notice the pain.

He was far too infuriated for that.

Yellow Dust normally resulted in an electricity based weapon. It was very easy to anyone to get, so criminals tended to use it a lot. The others, save blue that was ice, was too damaging to the area to go unnoticed or was unpractical.

Qrow had a lot of experience in getting hit with electricity and he had a lot of aura. With his Semblance not active, all his aura was staying in his shield. It didn't even slow him down.

The difficulty was using his anger properly. He normally had little problem. But Qrow had never been _this angry_ before. Even Raven hadn't managed that.

Marcus hung back a moment, studying him. "Why are you here?"

Qrow just attacked.

It might be mind games.

It might be him trying to figure out if Qrow had a personal stake in this-

 _You're going to die. And this time, you're staying dead._

Qrow had seen Marcus' corpse. He knew how Mercury had killed him. When he had first heard about it, the day he met Mercury, he had thought it necessary but worrying that a son would commit patricide.

Now Qrow was thinking Mercury had been far too merciful to give him a quick death.

 _He was desperate._

But then, after all this, after everything Qrow had seen…

Qrow ducked and jabbed the knife into Marcus' stomach when his stab went high.

Marcus backed off, but still had aura.

 _You didn't snap, did you Silvertongue? You planned his death for a while, but he kept you chained. When you were free…_

When he was free, Mercury had made sure he _stayed_ free.

And then along came Cinder and he would have been bound to her for the rest of his life if they had succeeded against Amber.

…

 _Is the Animin bond a chain?_

 ** _"We don't have anything to pack…"_**

 _He didn't want to come back with us. His other options were just worse._

Marcus had again changed tactics.

It was clear from his stance he had figured out why Qrow was here. It went from cautious to confident.

Qrow tried not to listen. He couldn't hear it now, but he would remember later.

He didn't rely on tactics. Marcus would probably win in experience; if he never let Mercury outside and they were certain of that, he was used to fighting in this room; he knew how to manipulate his opponent.

So did Qrow, but he was too unfocused.

So he relied on instinct.

Qrow had been brought up in a bandit tribe. He had been used to fighting and killing, though it wasn't until he had shown he was skilled, at ten years old, before they even allowed him on raids. It wasn't just that they were of age for Beacon; he and Raven had had the skills too.

They attended Beacon to learn how to kill Huntsmen. Qrow would say they succeeded there.

But Qrow had made a choice not to go back to the tribe.

Yang didn't know any of this. Ruby didn't. Emerald knew about the tribe, but not why they went to Beacon. She thought they wanted to get away.

Qrow was sure Mercury had guessed the truth.

It would be the reason why Mercury listened to Qrow more than Taiyang. Qrow had been raised a killer, had known very little about another way of life, and he chose his own path.

The difference between Qrow and Mercury was how their 'guardians' treated them.

Qrow couldn't think properly.

So he relied on instinct. Those had been honed since he was born and bounty missions only made them sharper.

If Qrow focused on the fact he was fighting Marcus Black, Mercury's 'father', he would be killed.

Then what would happen to Mercury?

It was just another Huntsman that had nothing to lose.

Qrow ducked and rolled. His swipe was dodged, but sidestepped. One very lucky hit that Qrow wouldn't have consciously attempted because it was so unlikely to work and the knife went flying out of Marcus' hand.

He had another, but this was slightly longer.

A few dodges and the replica knife was in Qrow's hand. The throw was a miss, but Marcus did have to step oddly to avoid the remains to the TV.

Marcus had stepped left.

For a second, the Ring was switched off.

Qrow didn't stab or swipe. He _shoved._ Pushed all his rage into it.

Marcus stumbled back-

Right into the open Iron Maiden.

The real knife hit his heart. With spikes and glass shards imbedded in his back, that final blade was enough. His aura shattered.

Still impaled, he began to bleed out.

But a blade in the heart was fatal in a matter of seconds.

The Iron Maiden in the London Dungeons skewered its victims to death. If Mercury had been left in that, there must be a way to stand in it to prevent death. Or maybe…it was just enough to cut but not deep enough or were carefully placed to avoid death.

 _Bastard._

 _…_

 _If this was the real Marcus, would I have won?_

 _Doesn't matter._

Qrow pulled the knife out of the 'corpse'. A mental scan and Qrow put his aura at around 65. He had taken less hits than he expected. He switched the Ring back on. It didn't matter if that was luck or his Semblance. The result was the same.

 _Is someone…clapping?_

Ginger.

She was alone.

And by the look of her, had gotten dressed in a hurry.

"Where's Mercury?" Qrow was in no mood for games.

 _Don't touch her._

Both her Semblances were game ending.

"I dropped him off his dad's room." She smiled, looking for all the world like an innocent angel. "Don't worry. I'm letting him rest for a while. Maybe-"

Qrow struck.

 _'Letting' him rest?_

Bullshit.

Emerald had told him about her fight with Ginger on the train in great detail before he left (well done and thank you Mint). It made sense that she wasn't the strongest fighter, but Emerald was more skilled than any student in Beacon at the moment. They had planned with an invisible Pepper in mind. On her own, Ginger's strategy would be quite different.

 _There hadn't been anyone unconscious in LiaGuard, so she probably hasn't stolen anyone's Semblance at the moment. I don't know what she 'stores' it in, but she can almost certainly take mine._

With spikes in the mattress, fixed furniture and a destroyed TV with sharp objects and the videos lying around, bad luck could be fatal.

Qrow wasn't convinced enough that Ginger was telling the truth to risk using it.

A baton was Ginger's weapon and she needed to get close to use it. She didn't try to switch it to the longer range gun. This one had been designed with humans in mind.

 _But not to kill. A blade like that is unlikely to hit anything fatal unless it hits an organ._

Here was the problem: Qrow couldn't allow himself to be touched by Ginger herself. The fight was over the second that happened. However, in order to prevent that, Qrow had to dodge her reaches in ways that could bring him into her weapon's range.

In fact, Qrow wasn't entirely sure if Ginger was trying to kill him or not.

It didn't matter.

The replica Dust knife was picked up by Ginger when she went low to dodge a swing. She was very fluid with it, easily adapting to dual wielding. It had been a while since Qrow had had to respond to dual wielding, especially with very short weapons.

That was easy enough.

The difficult part was that taking a hit from a weapon was preferable to a physical hit from the wielder. That was taking some getting used to.

But Ginger hadn't touched him yet.

Physically anyway. When he realised what she was saying, _that_ would bother him. Right now, he was making himself deaf to her words.

 _In order to take someone's Semblance, she has to at least concentrate on them. If she took it off anyone instinctively, then she would have been too unstable to be around. She would drain her own sister and brother, but they had been killed by someone else. So…_

They were dancing around each other again.

Then her blade got caught in the remains of the TV.

Qrow was on the other side of the room, but that wasn't an issue. He sheathed his weapons and shifted.

His talons slashed into her face.

Ginger screeched, the first sign of anything other than amusement and mockery.

Before she could retaliate, Qrow landed, shifted back and drove the silver Dust knife straight through her hand into her eye.

That made her aura shatter.

One swing of his sword later and Ginger was dead.

Decapitated.

Qrow let out a long breath.

 _She's dead. She'll never come after the kids again._

Without another thought, he ran out of the room.

Marcus' bedroom door was shut. Qrow had left it open.

 _I'm not going in the basement._

He hesitated. Zephyr's warning came back to him. A deep breath and he twisted the handle. It wasn't locked. The room was the same as before-

Save for the figure on the bed.

It took Qrow a few seconds to realise who he was looking at, even expecting him.

But it was one thing to suspect something. It was another thing entirely to _see_ it.

 _What…the…hell-_

Emerald had been branded with words.

Mercury was branded with symbols. A gem. A rose. A burning heart. A gear with a wing. A spiked heart. The…injuries weren't healed; hadn't been allowed to heal; had been ripped open again and again-

 _He's not moving…_

Qrow took long strides to the side of the bed. His hand reached out and gently massaged the scalp.

Mercury didn't respond. Not even a twitch.

 _That's not right…_

Qrow couldn't focus on his aura well either. Mercury must have some; Qrow could tell he wouldn't be alive if he didn't. It was like it was blocked somehow or…withdrawn…

 _He's not restrained. And that could easily be done, they're already in place._

Qrow knew the problem.

Mercury was trapped in his memories, courtesy of Ginger's Semblance. Even now, he wasn't free of her.

 _Bitch._

Qrow knelt on the bed and lifted the teen into his arms. His fingers fiddled with the back of the very thick, metal but not metal collar that was around the neck. If Qrow was going to donate what little aura he had, this needed to come off.

There wasn't a key hole. It was some kind of puzzle. It wasn't that it wasn't simple, but the pieces to get it off were remarkably small and difficult not to slip out of his fingers.

Enough mucking around with it and the collar eventually snapped off. Qrow threw it away, careful not to touch the raw and almost peeling skin underneath. Trying to ignore that, Qrow's hand returned to his scalp, gently petting.

 _His hair's not longer than I remember, but something's different…Oh. They cut it around the coyote 'ears' too. They were hidden before. I'm also sure they didn't look that bad._

Qrow didn't have much aura to give, but everything he did have he pushed towards Silvertongue. There was a brief resistance, but it felt different from the other times. It was almost like it was being analysed before accepted.

All but 1 of it was accepted.

Some sort of shift.

Mercury's eyelid was fluttering. It took a few seconds, but it opened. Looking straight at Qrow.

[F…Felix…]

Qrow swallowed. Fought to keep his voice from shaking. "I'm here, Silvertongue. I'm sorry I took so long."

Mercury closed his eye and 'relaxed' in Qrow's hold. Now Qrow had a proper look, the damaged eyelid looked far worse than it used to; crusted and swollen.

[Took 19 weeks…to invade a perfect defence…Perfection is such a disappointment these days…]

Despite everything, Qrow smiled shakily. He was still Silvertongue, still in there.

Images of Ginger and Marcus fake.

"They're dead."

The images faded.

Qrow swallowed and _looked_ at Mercury. Properly. He looked like hell but…what could actually kill him? His right arm was almost grey from the hand to just past his elbow. Through Mercury's aura, he was getting an image of his heart and it felt like there was something next to it-

 _Mercury's heart isn't beating._

Qrow's own heart skipped a beat.

He quickly moved his free hand over Silvertongue's chest.

Nothing.

He hadn't noticed but since he woke up-

[I'm doing that…Poison…Running out of aura though…]

Mercury was making his heart not beat? But how-?

Qrow very carefully picked his son up. Mercury didn't respond. "We're going Silvertongue. There's something you need to see first."

If it was Ruby or Yang, Qrow wouldn't do this.

But he thought Mercury would benefit in the long run if he saw it for himself.

Qrow returned to the mostly empty room. Still dead. He knelt down and gently turned Mercury's head. "Look." It was a struggle, but he did manage. When he saw Ginger's corpse, _relief_ flooded through him. But not just for himself. Emerald. "Not as painful as I wanted, but she'll _never_ hurt any of you again."

Mercury closed his eye.

Basil was dead too. All of the triplets were so-

 _Hang on._

Qrow then realised something. He had a rainbow Dust crystal. Okay, there were colours that weren't in a rainbow, but rainbow Dust did have them. Half black Dust maybe but the way Ozpin described it-

 _How the hell do I use it?_

That…had not occurred to him either.

Qrow needed to call Ozpin.

Maybe he could heal Silvertongue quickly. Physically anyway.

Cradling him, Qrow walked down the hallway towards the portal that would take them back to LiaGuard, one step closer to home.

 _I'm sorry for what you're about to see Emerald, but he needs you. Now and for some time. You'll understand in a way the other two are too sheltered to._

* * *

At any other time, Emerald would be proud that she was understanding a lot of the discussions between the doctors. Most of those words didn't sound like real words.

Right now, she wished she was still too uneducated.

It was a huge risk she was taking, but Mercury was worth it. She had told her Semblance was healing to Dr Waterbrook and a few students (like Coco) she had told so she could try and guess what was wrong with them before the doctor examined them, if they allowed it. Once she got the 'feel' of an injury, she never forgot it.

The rest of the school knew she was studying in the infirmary, but most didn't know about the scanning thing. Emerald had been careful which students she asked and they held to their word once they gave it.

Dr Waterbrook had agreed to teach her the basics, within reason.

Emerald looked around. She knew that thing was an IV, but they weren't entirely sure what else would be needed in it and she knew you had to be careful when mixing medicine. That console against the room. The simulator itself.

Emerald ignored the rest of the room and placed a hand on the currently empty bed. It was heated slightly, not too hot, with blankets at the bottom.

The argument of what was going to happen that day had been solved when Dr Waterbrook called Taiyang. More investigation of past action in this prison had brought a 'few observations'…

Such as Mercury using his aura for a _lot_ of things. Illness should have killed him by now, so his aura was working on that. Starvation and lack of water was another thing his aura had to correct. Another was uncertain, but one live 'witness' had commented that Mercury didn't _look_ starved. He was still as toned and muscled as he was before he was imprisoned. His aura was probably doing that too.

Emerald shook her head. Bad thoughts.

The point was that he needed aura. He could only get that from Qrow, Emerald, Ruby, Yang and Taiyang. He would reject it otherwise.

Emerald was in the room so she could scan him first, with the medical scanner used to confirm her guesses. The others were waiting outside and the sisters had been very unhappy to hear that. Tai put his foot down and only backed off about Emerald when he learned Zephyr had thought Mercury had a kill switch.

 _Who was now dead._

 _But thank you for helping him._

She swallowed.

A…kill switch.

Emerald took a deep breath.

If it was there, she would find it.

The main worry was that Mercury wouldn't be stable enough to operate on if it was needed. Another reason why he needed more aura.

Emerald…was ignoring the ache in her heart.

Her eyes flickered to the simulator and back again.

 _What did he just say?_

Emerald focused on the four doctors and one nurse. She didn't know all their names, but she knew three of them. The female doctor and the nurse were the only two she didn't know and the nurse was leaving as soon as she wasn't needed. If that was the final doctor's name…

 _I know that name. Why do I know that name? Where have I heard that name?_

It was before Cinder, Emerald was sure of that.

If it was before Cinder…

 _Where have I heard that name? Why would I_ remember _I heard that name?_

The doctor was young. She was maybe seven years older than Emerald herself.

Where…

Emerald's heart skipped a beat.

"Get out."

Silence followed.

Emerald turned to look her right in the eye. "Clover. _Misty_ Clover." The others were surprised, but not because it was wrong. Because it was _right._ "Get out."

For a second, it was there. Emerald saw it.

But that expression was gone fast and she spoke calmly. "I was called in to help a patient. I trained under a highly respected doctor that is unable to be here. I studied pharmaceutical-"

"So your dad bought your grades?" Emerald cut in. She didn't wait for her to answer. "I don't care what qualifications you have. The way you and your entourage killed your own friend tells me all I need to know about you. Get. Out."

This was the ringleader of the girls that had murdered their own friend. Emerald was about 9 then. She had been worried HION had been like that. They had proved her wrong.

In the corner of her eye, Emerald noted the scowls or exasperations of the others had faded. They were frowning. Dr Waterbrook's face was blank, his gaze carefully going from Emerald to Clover.

Clover hadn't hid her surprise.

Dr Murphy spoke. "Miss Sustrai-"

"I don't trust her around Mercury. She will leave or I will make her." Starting with making her relive her crime. Emerald had been close enough to hear and see far more than she would have liked to. Than she realised at the time.

There was a brief quiet.

Again, Dr Murphy opened his mouth-

There was a blue swirl in the simulator. Qrow appeared.

Holding a very still Mercury.

Not forgetting the threat but not yet, Emerald raced to his side. She gently cupped his cheek.

[Hey Em…Been a while…Not at my best…]

"We'll get you there," she murmured back, placing a kiss on his forehead. "Just trust me." Every bit of aura she had went to him.

Then she began to realise _very_ serious problems.

Qrow's hard eyes met her gaze. He knew.

"Mr Branwen." Dr Waterbrook.

Qrow broke eye contact, but Emerald looked at Mercury. What to do…His heart wasn't beating but Mercury was doing that and he was doing that to stop the poison from killing him. Still breathing, still alive-

 _Brain._

Brain surgery wasn't her thing, but she had touched Mercury enough to instinctively know what was normal for him.

"Miss Sustrai has expressed concerns of one of our doctors and refuses to let her treat Mr Black. As his registered guardian, you have the final say."

Mercury's brain was still functioning normally. He was getting oxygen there. Emerald didn't know how without his blood pumping (aura probably somehow) but how to help him?

 _Okay. Source of the poison. There's something against his heart that shouldn't be and that's the biggest problem…There's a different poison in his arm, but that can't spread further until his heart beats…Neither poison can._

"If Emerald doesn't trust her with Mercury, then neither do I. She'll leave." Emerald felt his eyes on her again. "How's he doing?"

"He's managing just as well…somehow. But we need to get the thing next to his heart out before it can be restarted. And if that poison in his arm hits his organs…"

Emerald backed to the side so Qrow could lay him down on the bed. He pulled one of the blankets to his waist. Emerald only realised then that Mercury was naked.

She swallowed when she _saw_ his chest. Her own words stung.

There was blood on Qrow's arms. The back was probably just as bad.

 _Okay._

 _Vital things first. Then the rest._

The reason people breathed was to get oxygen into their lungs. That oxygen was taken to their brain. If someone doesn't breathe for too long, brain damage occurs then brain death. This kills the person.

Mercury was breathing. The oxygen was getting to his brain (somehow). If his aura was responsible, something of _that_ magnitude was going to drain it very quickly.

Dr Waterbrook was at the bedside.

Dr Murphy returned from the exit door. There was no sign of Clover.

"Restart what?" He must know, but he needed to ask.

"His heart," Emerald replied. "He's stopped his heart to stop the poison getting around and he's somehow getting oxygen to the brain. If his heart is restarted before either poison is dealt with, he'll…"

Dr Waterbrook lifted the right arm. The grey one. "I think I know this and if it is what I think it is, then there isn't an antidote. The only way to deal with this is amputation."

Emerald was really hoping he wouldn't say that.

Qrow just closed his eyes for a moment before glancing at the door. "The family close?"

"Yeah. Just outside." Mercury _really_ needed the comfort. And aura.

Because even Emerald knew there was only one way to get something out that was very snug next to his heart.

Dr Waterbrook studied the results of the medical scanner. Emerald had been aware of it and had hoped that she was mistaken. She could tell from his expression she hadn't been.

"…Emerald, can you tell his brain activity?"

"It doesn't feel any different to me." Mercury's heart wasn't beating. If his brain died, Mercury was dead. "Can you check?"

"According the scanner, it's normal but we don't have time to check properly." He sighed. "The big problem is this tiny sphere next to his heart."

"What's the problem?" Qrow asked. "Can't we just take it out?"

One of the doctors was trying to decipher a very, very thick folder.

 _Fucking hell…Is that Mercury's medical history for his time here?_

"The problem is where it is. It's surrounded by blood vessels and one wrong move could cause internal bleeding. With how low his aura is at the moment, he couldn't afford that." He rubbed his temples. "If there was any way it could be left in without killing him, I would say it was too tricky to operate on."

Emerald swallowed. "N-Not even if he got more aura?"

"He's back down to 1 now." From nearly all of Emerald's aura?! "On top of that…" Dr Waterbrook hesitated. "On top of that, it is a conscious action to get oxygen to his brain. I can't put him under anaesthetic because he would never wake up."

Emerald…had been trying to ignore that.

Qrow's fists clenched. "So he's going to be awake throughout the whole procedure?"

"Most likely. He might fall unconscious and he should still do this instinctively. But I can't make him fall unconscious. He had a poor reaction to anaesthetic before and, while the black Dust is _most likely_ to blame, I cannot be sure he wasn't naturally adverse to it."

 _Fucking dammit._

"So…" Emerald swallowed. "So we're at amputating his arm and cutting open his chest in an operation that has such a low success rate that it's more likely to kill him than the poison at the moment?"

"Crudely put, yes." Dr Waterbrook took a blood sample from the grey arm and a separate blood sample from the normal one. He also took a sample from the chest, which confused Emerald.

 _If we do nothing, he dies._

Emerald petted his hair, very careful to avoid the now exposed coyote 'ears'. She could see how she hadn't noticed them before his eye was damaged.

That eye now…

She _felt_ it this time. Felt 1 aura.

[Em please…I'll manage…but I need this stuff out…I trust you…]

Zephyr said Mercury had never begged. It took forever for Mercury to trust.

Emerald transferred that 1 aura of his back. "Okay then. If that's-"

Qrow put a hand on her shoulder. "First off, we'll get him more aura." His free hand went a little below Emerald's, rubbing circles into Mercury's scalp. "Is it going to be one operation after another or both at the same time?"

Dr Murphy and Dr Waterbrook had a whispered discussion. They went to Dr Patri, who seemed to have figured out the medical file…

 _Which is sickening in of itself._

The nurse that Emerald still didn't know the name of came over to the head of the bed with a chair and a bucket. She placed both on the floor and lifted an ice pack out of the small bucket. She placed it over Mercury's damaged eye.

"Trying to reduce the swelling. Or at least make it a little easier."

It did, actually. Less uncomfortable for him. "Thank you."

"The chair's for you or him." She moved Mercury's arms out of the way slowly so she could pull the blanket up to cover his chest without covering his arms. "There will be screens during the operations even if you are allowed to remain."

"I'm not leaving him alone," Qrow replied softly.

Dr Waterbrook walked over to one of the machines on the side. He studied it for a few moments before returning to the doctors' discussion. Another two minutes and he approached Qrow and Emerald.

"So far, the poison from the sphere is staying near his heart. It hasn't gone any further. However, in this situation, it might be worth removing as much tainted blood as possible. This has no known antidote either and we are relying much on his immune system to fight it while we find a way to help."

Qrow frowned. "Mercury's blood type O, isn't he? So am I. He can have my blood. Everything."

Emerald glanced at Qrow. The man was very tense, but his hand on Mercury was very gentle.

Dr Waterbrook considered. "I will check my records and confirm your blood type first, but he is most likely to accept blood from you than a stranger. I would recommend you keep any aura you regenerate and keep reading him. That should make him less likely to reject that blood."

Emerald didn't know much about transferring blood, but by the sound of it, it was very complicated.

"But that won't work for the arm. I'm sorry."

Mercury won't care.

Qrow nodded slowly. "Hook me up." He patted Emerald's back. "Go fetch the others Mint, then throw them back out again. What they can see now is bad enough."

"I don't approve of Miss Sustrai being present for the procedures," Dr Waterbrook stated.

"I was told that a doctor's job is to do what is best for the patient. What is best for Mercury is for Emerald to remain." Qrow wasn't happy about it either.

Dr Waterbrook sighed. "…Touché. The others stay outside."

"That I'll agree with."

Emerald reluctantly moved away from Mercury and walked to the door. She pulled it open.

The three immediately looked at her. Desperation was all over their features.

Emerald swallowed, not sure what to say.

Yang came up and hugged her.

"…W-Well, we're sure he'll be okay but…he's going to lose his arm. Come on. He needs help right now."

"It's bad, isn't it." Ruby didn't even phrase it as a question.

"Very." They were about to see a little. No point in lying to them.

Ruby shook. Yang rubbed Emerald's back a little before stepping back and taking Ruby's hand. They walked past Emerald to inside.

Emerald took a breath and looked at Tai. "I'm staying with him. When…I mean during-"

Tai put a hand on her shoulder.

Without a thought, she pushed herself into his chest, crying.

"It'll be okay Emerald. He'll be okay. He's safe now."

"W-What if I can't help him? W-What if…?"

Up. Down. Up. Down.

"Emerald. He's going to recover. He'll come home. Now let's go see him."

Ruby reappeared. Her eyes were red and there were tears. Her voice only wavered a little. "Emerald, who did Uncle Qrow call? He was so sad…"

Ruby was trying so hard not to focus on what she just saw.

 _Because seeing Mercury just says he's not going to be okay…_

"I don't know Ruby. I didn't know he was calling anyone."

"He…" Ruby sniffed. "Mercury promised we'd go flying again."

 _Promised._

"Then we will," Emerald replied. "I…had better head back."

Ruby hugged her. "He'll be okay."

"Yeah." Ruby. Ever the optimist.

Yang appeared then, a small smile and shaking her head slightly. It vanished in an instant. She ruffled Ruby's hair before going to Emerald.

[He'll be okay.]

 _Cheater._

The sooner he was treated, the sooner he would recover.

Tai first went to Mercury. He patted his head, then gently rested his hand there for the moment. He placed a gentle kiss on his head. Whispered something.

He then headed over to Qrow, who was now connected by tubes to Mercury's arm.

An aura reading conversation with him later, he returned to Emerald. Guided her to the chair next to him.

"Stay calm. He'll be fine."

Emerald nodded. She didn't say anything. She wasn't convinced.

Screens across Mercury's collarbone, blocking the view.

Emerald didn't want to look anyway.

Qrow's hand wrapped around hers. He had been quite quiet. "First steps Mint."

Emerald kept her hand in his hair. Whatever her aura regenerated, she gave it to him.

 _20 weeks…For us. Do you even know how long it was for you Merc?_

 _So much to show you Merc. So much to tell you. Where do we start?_

 _Yang's started to play an instrument. I doubt you've heard of it. She learnt how to read music sheets from the internet and she showed me too. I was thinking of a flute or something similar. I haven't found one I like though._

 _Ruby found Taiyang's old guitar. It's like thirty years old and is still in exceptional condition. Tai looked like he was going to have a heart attack. It's odd though. We never found that and we searched that house pretty thoroughly. Fancy another look around when we get back?_

 _Come to think of it, you didn't ever go fishing in Patch, did you? You loved it in America. I don't think the others will mind going again. I think we'll all enjoy it._

 _Tai was teaching us how to cook. We're getting good. Not as good as him because you know his cooking but better than before. That's not saying much in my case, but I know you'll love the fish pie and some of the sauces for steaks. You might even be better. Your sense of taste was always better than ours._

 _Qrow stayed home, Silvertongue. Qrow stayed home._

Beep.

Emerald jolted.

Qrow's head turned to the side. A _relieved_ smile fleshed out.

"What was that?" Emerald asked. She knew that sound; had heard it before.

"That's a heart monitor Emerald. His heart's beating."

Which meant-

The sphere was gone. So was the right arm halfway between the shoulder and elbow.

But his breathing was peaceful. For the first time, he was unconscious but otherwise fine. Just sleeping after a very long day.

His heart was beating. Too slowly technically but he would grow stronger.

 _He's going to be okay._


	14. Small or Large Victory

**AN: In no way am I connected to RWBY**

* * *

Uncle Qrow was asleep. Apparently, that wasn't unusual for someone who had donated a lot of blood at the end of a long and traumatic day.

At any other time, Ruby would just think he was adorable curled up like that.

Mercury sleeping on the bed in the middle of the room stopped all that.

[Ruby, relax. Just give me a few days and I'll be up and about.]

Ruby winced. [Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you.]

[It's fine. Has Zwei stolen my stuff again?]

[No. He's been sleeping on your bed though. I think he missed you too…We all did.] Right now, the dog and dragon were in the corner of the room, close to the main door.

[…I was careless.]

[Don't go there Merc. Please.] She was sure there was nothing he could have done differently. Ruby didn't want to think on it. He was safe now.

Emerald's free hand gently rubbed her back. She was in the chair next to Ruby's. Dad and Yang were near Zwei and Talaria, talking about something through their aura. It was a Serious conversation, Ruby could tell that much.

"Go back to sleep Merc," Emerald murmured. She hadn't left his side and would almost certainly fall asleep in that chair. Ruby would too.

[Hmm…Nope.]

A smile. It was a tiny smile, but Ruby didn't feel like smiling but she couldn't help herself.

"You're a bad influence Ruby," Emerald noted.

That got a little chuckle out of her. An ex-thief was calling her a bad influence on an ex-assassin.

[Still not letting her put reverse motors and flaps into my legs.]

An old argument from when his legs had been damaged before.

Ages ago.

They didn't need fixing right now though. They had only been switched off. Ruby had removed them when Dr Waterbrook asked her to so he could treat the damage underneath them.

Damage that everyone was deliberately hiding from her and Yang.

Which was fine with Ruby. If Mercury wanted to talk to her about it then she was always willing to listen even if she thought he never would. Right now, all she wanted was to know he would get better, not what was wrong with him.

Emerald glanced at Ruby. "Do I want to know what you wanted to do?"

"Nothing dangerous…" Ruby mumbled. "Just a bit more fun."

[Still not happening.]

He was getting _really_ tired now. Ruby could tell that. So could Emerald. She began to hum that tune again. The one she always hummed whenever Mercury or Ruby couldn't sleep. Again Ruby wondered where she learned it; if it was something she had from her birth parents she couldn't remember.

[Cheater,] Mercury mumbled. But it was working.

"Sleep well," Ruby whispered, her hand massaging his unhurt cheek.

In a few minutes, he was.

Ruby sighed and leaned back in the chair, hands slipping back to her sides. Emerald turned to her properly. Her hand remained on him; kept checking he was okay. She didn't say anything. There wasn't really anything to say.

Ruby knew he was going to get better. But it was hard to see him like this.

The ice pack on his eye had melted. Ruby grabbed a new one from the bucket full of ice and carefully replaced it. His breath hitched a little, but he settled again almost immediately.

 _How is he so…peaceful?_

[Ruby, he's peaceful because he's safe.]

Ruby jumped. She hadn't heard Yang approach or even felt her touch on her shoulder. [He still feels…vulnerable.]

[He has three limbs missing and…very bad months. Probably years for him.] _Can a heart be wrenched out?_ [It'll take him a while to relax again. This isn't somewhere he considers safe either.]

[How soon until he can come home?] Ruby wanted him home _now_.

[Dr Waterbrook thinks at least a few weeks, depending on how he heals.] Yang petted her head. [Ruby, I know this is a bad time, but…Did you ever talk about…going further?]

This _was_ a really bad time. [Yang…Not now…Please.] Because now she was beginning to notice something.

[You did, didn't you? I won't tell Dad, I promise.]

Ruby swallowed. [We spoke about it once…Barely. He wanted to wait until I was at least of age and Emerald agreed. I thought…I mean I wanted my first time to be special and if we had been together for a few years…He never wanted to go that far, did he? Ever.]

Ruby knew the word. She couldn't say it. She didn't want to think on it, but…

[Most likely not,] Yang sighed. [He either didn't think the relationship would last that long or he would have given an excuse that wasn't the truth if it did.]

[He thought he would be dead before it got to that point.]

"Ruby-"

"That's the truth Yang."

 _The Vytal Festival…He was so distant then. Was Ironwood really the only threat on his mind? Was there something in his talks with Cinder on Earth that made him suspect something?_

 _Or did he just think his father's past would catch up with him?_

 ** _"If you want to step back Ruby, now is the best time to do it."_**

 _Right from the beginning._

Emerald's eyes returned to the pair, but she didn't say anything. She had missed the whole 'conversation'. But from the look in her eyes…She could guess. Maybe she had known for a while.

"That memory Emerald, his nightmare…What exactly did you see?"

It wasn't that Emerald was hiding something from her. Ruby knew they would never tell her the worst of what happened, but she needed _something._ Something to give 'context'; something she could _hate more_ than seeing him like this.

…

A long breath.

"A young Mercury. His 10th birthday." Her voice was distant. "He woke up wrapped in chains on his bed and had to weasel out of them. When he deliberately cut his arm so the blood-…That's when I pulled back."

Ruby felt like crying. She didn't let herself. "So what Marcus did…wasn't a surprise to you."

"It was. I never thought it went that far. Never crossed my mind that it did. What would be the point? He's an assassin. Not a…"

"That's enough girls."

Dad didn't make her jump.

…

"Is he going to be okay Dad?" Ruby didn't know why she asked. She knew what he would reply.

"Just give him time."

* * *

It had been three days.

Tai and Qrow took Mercury for a proper bath in the room next door. Tai had old memories of washing the girls back when they were babies. Summer had loved every second with them. Qrow didn't have that experience. One too many near misses with his Semblance and he chose to stay away until they were older.

Well, that had been the decision until Yang took Ruby for a ride in the forest.

Tai chose to wait outside the bathroom. He didn't want them disturbed and he did not want Mercury to become an exhibit. He could also see the teen was embarrassed that he was entirely dependent on them. For his recovery, a good sign.

But he was back to tensing whenever he was touched. While not surprising, it was disheartening.

Being properly clean would make him feel much better, but Tai could tell with all those wounds that merely being awake was painful for him. The only part of him that was unmarred was that Aura Wielder tattoo and that wasn't through lack of trying. He did smile when he went in the water though, so maybe it wasn't as bad.

Tai was also worried about Qrow. The man had barely slept in the past three days and the few hours he had managed to snag were plagued by nightmares. Tai had manged to wake him without disturbing any of the kids, but Qrow wouldn't talk to him about it. It was _obvious_ what the problem was, but…Qrow had specifics and Tai didn't. Most likely the sole reason Tai was sleeping a little better than he was.

It would be better if Qrow stayed home during Mercury's recovery as well.

 _And how am I supposed to convince him of that if he doesn't realise it himself?_

It didn't look like Qrow was going to leave him any time soon.

Hopefully.

Physically, Mercury was healing very well. Dr Waterbrook's initial estimate of a few weeks had been dropped down to a fortnight at most. He did agree that his mental and emotional recovery would be much easier at home than in LiaGuard.

Taiyang wanted to get him out of here as quickly as possible.

 _With how well he's doing, I'll be thinking about bringing him home in about three or four days._

There was a thud on the inside of the door.

Tai rolled his eyes with a fond smile. He opened the door and headed inside, noting the towel Qrow had thrown to get his attention. Qrow himself was still by the tub. Mercury was resting his head on Qrow's shoulder, either sleeping or resting his eye. Most likely the latter.

 _I'd almost call it 'cute' if both of them wouldn't take offence to it. For now, let's not wind him up._

If it wasn't for the stumps of his legs and arm. The red but closed eyelid. They were sobering.

One thing that hadn't healed yet were his vocal chords. They had badly damaged it somehow, but it wasn't a life threatening injury and he had far worse things to worry about. Ironically, the wounds that distressed the others the most were the ones that were the least physically harmful. They would be the last things to go.

Mercury opened his eye when Taiyang was in view. Tai reached out and carefully patted him once on the head. Aura brushed against his instantly and the teen was satisfied, even if he had moved a little away.

 _Not your fault. It'll pass._

That simulator could make a copy of Marcus Black.

There was no reason it couldn't make a copy of Taiyang or Qrow or the girls.

And Mercury's constant aura checking if they had been out of his sense range told a very obvious tale. Images and voices could be replicated, but aura couldn't be.

Another obstacle they were going to have to overcome.

 _But they wouldn't be as accurate. Personal. Ginger didn't get memories of us. Had to go off what Basil knew._

Yang had had a suggestion. One Taiyang really didn't like. To be fair, she wasn't fond of it either.

But he had a few days to a fortnight to think on it.

Qrow had a few towels ready. Tai grabbed a clean blanket and a pair of boxers. For now, there was little medicine or the family could do for him except make him as comfortable as they could.

Qrow's scroll rang.

He ignored it.

The ringing stopped.

Mercury blinked, frowning a little. [That was Ozpin.]

"And he can wait," was Qrow's reply.

Apparently, Mercury knew the significance of that sentence as much as Tai did.

And he had no idea how to respond to it.

Tai's reaction was pride and relief.

But he didn't show it.

It wasn't easy to carry Mercury. Normally, Qrow would lift someone under the back and knees. Removing the prosthetics had made the bath far more enjoyable, but it made things a little more difficult. Instead, after they carefully dried him, they wrapped him in the blanket and twisted the loose end to regain the balance.

Mercury raised his left arm easily, pressing it against Qrow's chest. The two stopped.

[I hear…Yang's gauntlets.]

It could be a hallucination. Mercury was expected to have those, not just because of the simulator but because of a different discussion that Taiyang was still urging to have _words_ with Ironwood for.

 _But why Yang's gauntlets?_

Taiyang listened, but he couldn't hear anything.

The door slammed open and Ruby was next to them. Her voice was hushed but rushed. "She's _here._ I don't-She's here somehow!"

'She'?

 _Cinder._

How the hell had she gotten in?

 _And gotten this far!_

Not important right now.

Tai could hear Yang's gauntlets too now. Yang and Emerald must still be next door, trying to keep Cinder's attention on them-

Mercury's eye was focused. His arm moved to try and get up.

"Ruby. Take Mercury and get onto another level. Anywhere else. Go!"

Mercury obviously wanted to protest.

But Ruby immediately gathered him in her arms and vanished into rose petals, with light silver mixed in with the red.

 _They're safe._

Tai and Qrow immediately ran for the simulator room.

If Cinder was here to kill Mercury or Emerald, Taiyang was going to stop her.

And he did not care if he had to kill her to do it. At least then, those two would finally be free of her life, if not her shadow.

* * *

Ruby didn't need to read Mercury's aura to know he was _not_ happy about this. If she hadn't taken him away, he would have tried to fight too, missing limbs be damned.

 _Because that is what he is. Conditioned to fight no matter what happens to him._

How did someone end up like that?

It wasn't hate or revenge that made Mercury want to fight Cinder. He wasn't even angry at her. It was the fact she was here to kill him and he didn't want to die.

Two floors down, in an abandoned room, Ruby lay him down again, carefully checking that using her Semblance hadn't hurt him more.

[Ruby, take me back.]

"No."

When was the last time she had 'no' to him?

 _When had I needed to? He tended to offer things for me and Em, not for himself._

[Ruby-]

"No Eris."

Mercury blinked. Something flickered across his expression.

Ruby cupped his cheek under his good eye. He tensed, but then leaned into it. "Do you remember that? When the eleven of us sat down and gave each other nicknames? We're using them in school now."

Mercury might not remember. If Ginger had never seen his memories of them, maybe he had buried them so deep even he couldn't see them.

 _Then we'll have to give him more happy memories._

[I…That night…] He was trying. [Yeah…I…They named me 'Ares' but sometimes…Emerald thought 'Eris' was more accurate.]

She did and later Uncle Qrow had agreed with her, even if Yang and Ruby didn't. 'Ares' was what their friends called them, but 'Eris' is what the family had named him. Not seriously and they rarely brought it up, but Ruby hadn't been trying to honestly. It had been just before…

Just before they stepped back.

"And you agreed but were annoyed because it was female."

[And someone…Yang…said that Talaria called me 'Mother Fledging'.]

He _did_ remember. Them, at least. "Can you remember the others?"

[Cinder-]

"You're _not_ going down there," Ruby stated _very_ firmly. "They'll worry about you and then won't fight as well. Isn't that why you want me to hang back if you're in a tough fight?" He didn't respond, but some of the fight went out of him.

 _They'll be okay. Everyone will be okay._

Ruby believed that.

It wasn't the fact it was four on two. It was the fact they wouldn't allow the others to fall.

[But-]

"Right now, you would struggle to take _me._ "

[They'll need to kill her to get her to back off. Yang can't do that. Her hesitation could get her killed.]

Ruby winced. She didn't want anyone to die. "They'll send her out if she'll go." She won't. "What name did we give her?"

…

[This is a bad way of distracting me.]

"Less complaining and more naming."

Mercury let out a breath and closed his eye. Naturally he started with Ruby, Emerald and Yang, then Weiss oddly, then continued…alphabetically.

Ruby smiled.

He was getting them all right.

 _The memories are still there. He just needs to remember and bury those horrendous memories deep._

* * *

Cinder hadn't come alone.

But Qrow didn't recognise the woman with her.

 _Deep blue eyes, blonde hair with orange streaks, dark blue cat suit…Definitely never met her._

Given that her katana was trying to slice Yang's head off, she wasn't friendly. Tai immediately jumped into that battle, catching her wrist before she could strike. She twisted out of it like a monkey.

"Get out Yang."

"Not happening."

Qrow's target was Cinder.

Emerald was struggling.

She wasn't struggling because she was being overpowered or because Cinder was using Maiden power. She wasn't. But there was a good reason her aura had dropped by half already.

Emerald was struggling because she was fighting _Cinder._

 _Sorry Mint. But you're not alone._

She was trying to stay calm and fight carefully.

But she was missing obvious hits and several hits could have been easily dodged.

 _Okay._

Qrow needed to focus Cinder's attention on him.

But before he could do anything more daring other than basic sword fighting, Tai was by his side and Emerald was by Yang.

 _Not happy leaving the kids on their own, but this is probably a better match up._

Cinder's eyes focused on Emerald for a moment-

Then spun her sword when Talaria tried to bite her. That was followed by a stream of fire, but Talaria was already out of range and flew to assist Zwei after his headbutt put him in range of the other woman's attack.

Qrow clashed against her swords.

Tai's fist broke through her block.

And immediately Qrow noticed that the sword in her left hand vanished. That arm was at an odd angle. It was clearly broken.

 _She has aura, but it's not a shield._

Well. That made things much easier.

Or it would have if Cinder didn't instantly start to use fire.

"Tai?"

"I see it."

It wasn't important exactly what was happening to Cinder's aura, but it did explain why she hadn't come alone. A quick glance showed that Emerald and Yang were doing well; with the two animals running distraction.

 _But why did Cinder come at all if she has such a huge problem?_

Long shots were useless against Cinder. Qrow had sparred a few times with Amber to aid them both and the first thing he had learned was that projectiles could be blocked by a kind of force field that was almost instinctive once they tapped into it.

Blunt force was not stopped however.

Unfortunately for Cinder, that was how Taiyang liked to fight.

Qrow didn't hear anything, but something hard smacked into him from the side. Before he could gain his balance, Cinder sidestepped Tai's punch and brought her sword down on Qrow's neck.

He had never heard that sound before.

 _Right…No aura, bit too careless. Right-_

 _I can't move._

Qrow couldn't move.

There was a strong, agonising pulse at the base of his neck.

Ignoring it, Qrow tried to move his limbs. But he couldn't.

 _What's going on?_

This had _never_ happened before.

 _Not a Semblance effect, I know that…But what else is there? Both electrocuted me when they hit me, but that didn't cause this. What-_

Severed spinal cord.

He was alive, but couldn't move.

More importantly, recovery would not happen on a battlefield.

Qrow couldn't rejoin the fight.

 _Dammit!_

He couldn't protect his kids.

* * *

Emerald saw Qrow's aura shatter. She saw him go down.

What she couldn't understand was why he didn't get back up. He was obviously awake.

"Uncle Qrow?!" Yang called, but there was a clang of clashed metal.

If Qrow replied, they didn't hear it over the noise of battle.

Emerald used her Semblance for the first time today. "I'll check on him. Cover me."

Yang tilted her head slightly to show she heard and cracked her knuckles. "Right then. Talaria, Zwei. Double ping-pong."

 _What is she teaching those two?_

To Emerald's surprise, the two animals charged. Talaria naturally reached the enemy first, but rather than slash or bite, she just landed on her arm and bounced off again. She made a tight turn and did it again. Zwei did the same thing, jumping up and bouncing off, not trying to attack.

The woman was struggling to keep her balance.

 _Oh. That's why._

Probably a way they woke someone up when they slept in. So normally Yang or Ruby. Seemed more like something Yang would think up.

Emerald knelt by Qrow, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Mint, don't worry. Get back in there."

His problem was…

A severed spine.

He was _very_ lucky to be alive.

 _Or maybe it wasn't luck…_

"I think-"

"Don't. Go on."

Emerald swallowed.

Her attention went to Cinder. She was distracted with Tai. But if she noticed…

Then…

 _I don't care. It's not like they'll live…_

Emerald moved her hand over the right vertebrae. She took a deep breath and focused. That deep unsettlement; she pushed the warm pulse towards Qrow.

"Emerald, don't!" Of course Qrow would notice. His hiss was quiet, but he knew what she was doing.

And with Cinder in the room…

Emerald tried to keep her voice steady. "I know. And it'll keep her here and not after him. She…"

"So…It was you. All this time…"

Emerald flinched, but stayed focused. Healing wasn't a bad ability to have and if Qrow couldn't defend himself, one stray attack…

And Cinder had just realised…

 _I won't let you hurt any of us again._

In the corner of her eye, Emerald saw the mystery woman slash her katana, scattering the two animals. Ready to strike.

The fireball would kill Qrow.

 ** _It had been a good night. The dances were nice and her Quicksilver looked good in formal dress. Who knew that Ruby could be more beautiful? That Mercury could be so perfect in a suit?_**

 ** _Ruby was feeling a little too hot, so she left for some air._**

 ** _When they caught up with her, Emerald went on a roof and Mercury stayed below._**

 ** _A wind tornado using Dust rounds carefully fired. It deflected anything Cinder aimed at him. He was break-dancing in the eye of the storm. It was incredible._**

 ** _Then he made everything go back._**

 ** _Break-dancing…Was almost an art. When he did it anyway._**

There was a crash and a startled cry when the fireball hit the wind tornado Emerald must have unknowingly created around her and Qrow. It had been redirected at Cinder's accomplice.

Cinder herself created an ice sword-

Taiyang's punch didn't just shatter the sword. He continued through it as if it had never existed, continued on and hit Cinder in the head.

She…

She hit the floor like a doll…Her head at an odd angle…

Cinder didn't move.

Talaria snarled and launched herself again at the unknown woman.

Cinder still didn't move.

 _Burning!_

Emerald hissed and drew her hands back.

Everything was burning. Her head, her body, her _heart._ Everything hurt so much.

Emerald closed her eyes, pulling back into herself. Shaking.

 ** _"Sorry little cousin. I didn't mean to worry you; didn't mean to run off. But everything was too much. I was taken in, found a new family but…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you behind."_**

 ** _"Mom…Dad…Help me. Please. It hurts so much."_**

 ** _"He chose you over me. That was a mistake."_**

 _So many voices…_

Something wet rubbed against her cheek.

With a slight groan, Emerald opened her eyes.

Zwei stared back at her.

"Em? You okay?" Yang was near too.

Tai had his arms wrapped around her, trying to calm her down. Emerald curled into him. Someone else was rubbed her back gently, but he was a little farther away. Qrow had backed off to give them some room-

 _Qrow…_

He was moving. He was fine.

"I-I…" She felt… "I'm…okay. I mean…" Everything wasn't hurting anymore. In fact… "I feel more like myself for years."

She barely noticed that warmth within…It didn't hurt anymore. It was just there and only when she searched for it.

But her hands were glowing. It looked like aura, but she knew it wasn't.

 _Mercury…_

Emerald smiled and squirmed a little for room to stand up. They all stepped back, Yang helping her to her feet. Tai still held her close. She deliberately, but sadly, stepped out of his embrace.

"Emerald."

She hesitated and looked at Qrow. Knew what he was going to say. "Just so you know, if you heal him, especially that eye, Salem's probably going to figure it out. It's your choice and you know the up. Just keep in mind the down."

Qrow was worried. He would have been too late to save Amber if Emerald and Mercury had been able to fight properly back then.

But Emerald's answer was…obvious.

"I don't care."

She wasn't afraid of them anymore.

Emerald was angry at them. Not just what they had done to her, but to Mercury. They'd had to wreck the nice normal life Ruby and Yang had had and had shown them the darkness in the world. They had made Tai and Qrow fear for their kids' lives.

And Emerald had had enough.

Let them figure it out.

Ruby had taken Mercury two floors down and into the nearest room.

Ruby was still crouched, but her hand was on her scythe. She relaxed when she saw Emerald and turned back to Mercury. His eye was on Emerald and he had managed to wiggle his arm free. Ruby's arms went around him; he paid her little attention.

"Emerald? You're glowing."

Emerald knelt down and wrapped her arms around Mercury. He tensed at first, like he had every time, but then relaxed. Ruby lifted him a little so Emerald could pull him into her lap completely.

[Em…Are you sure about this?] He sounded so conflicted. And so worried. Worried didn't sound right on him.

"Very sure."

Petting his hair, Emerald began to softly hum.

That warm pulse responded so much quicker than a few minutes before. So eager; so _much._ There wasn't that ache this time, like the very few times she had managed before. It was calming.

Mercury let out a sigh and leaned into her completely. He closed his eye. Going to sleep.

Emerald _knew_ how to help him. She just knew. She knew exactly what injuries he had and she knew how to fix them. She could take away his pain.

 _I'm done with running. After so long, maybe…I should…just live._

 _Cinder…_

 _…_

 _Goodbye._

 _And…_

 _Thank you for everything._


	15. Long Road Home

**In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

"Well, I would prefer talking to an ophthalmologist, but I do have a theory."

Mercury blinked and hopped down from the bed. "Nothing permenant though, right?"

Dr Waterbrook rubbed his temples. "Like I said, I would like to consult with an expert in this field, but I do not believe so. I think the problem is simple and will sort itself out in a few days. However…" He pulled out a drawer and withdrew a tiny bottle. "This may help in the meantime."

Mercury frowned in confusion as he took it. "And this is…?"

"Emerald? Would you like a look?"

Emerald took the offered bottle and looked it over.

Mercury's right eye had been working fine. It didn't look any different than Emerald remembered; only that it was a little odd to see it fine now. He said he couldn't see any differently out of that eye than his left. Two hours later and he was constantly tempted to rub it, though he knew better than to do so. Since then, she had been very worried she had done something wrong.

The mask that normally covered the right eye when it had been damaged had been in one of the laboratories. They had been trying to figure out how the runes and Dust worked. His clothes had been in a storage locker. Apparently, that was where Zephyr took the cufflink and knife from before sending them to Ozpin, not knowing Qrow's address.

 _Zephyr…_

"This is…" The list of chemicals looked familiar and didn't seem like drugs. Actually… "Human tears?"

"Very similar, yes."

That obviously made Mercury more baffled. He took the bottle from Emerald and had a look at the list for himself. "Tears? What do you think is the problem?"

"I believe the eye is drying out. While it is normally an automatic process to rehydrate it, your brain most likely thought it unnecessary and stopped it. It would be very odd, but perhaps not impossible. With your medical history, I think this will be corrected within a few days at most, but two drops of that when the eye feels scratchy will ease that."

So Emerald hadn't done anything wrong. She let out a breath.

"Easy enough then." He dropped the bottle on the table near the destroyed console for the time simulator. Yang had trashed that _very_ quickly. Qrow and Tai had had a field day on the machine itself. "Anything else? I feel perfectly fine."

"A warning I can give is to not engage in strenuous activity immediately and instead build it up. Your muscles and most likely aura needs time to adjust."

"I'll keep that in mind." That wasn't an agreement. Mercury would decide when he started training again.

"However, all my tests show you to be completely healthy."

Mercury gently rubbed Emerald's back. "Great." [Thank you.]

[Three times, Merc. I didn't even need one.] But she appreciated it.

 _Completely healthy and completely scar free._

As it turned out, silver Dust scars were healed quite easily by the Spring Maiden. For the first time since he was probably born, there were no tales of pain written in his skin.

Emerald's scars were gone too. Nothing there; not a word.

 _But I couldn't regrow his arm or legs._

Emerald had known that, but she had tried anyway.

Ruby and Yang were playing Go Fish, but weren't even trying to hide the fact that they were listening in to Mercury's little health update. Qrow was the same; sitting in a chair in the corner pretending to be playing on his scroll. Or maybe he was but he was listening too.

Tai and Qrow wouldn't let him overdo his training regime and Emerald could tell that Mercury wanted to jump straight back into it.

Dr Waterbrook nodded once and walked over to Qrow, discussing who knows what. On second thought, Mercury could probably hear it but he didn't seem to care. He headed over to the sisters and studied Ruby's cards.

With a smile, Emerald joined Yang. She had no matching cards.

"Got any queens?"

"Go fish."

Ruby scowled and snatched another card from the deck.

"Got any aces?" Yang didn't. A card hit her on the forehead. Ace of spades.

Tai entered the room with a huge grin on his face. And a box in his arms. "Mercury. I've got something here for you."

He certainly had Mercury's attention. Tai dropped the box on the nearby table and Mercury walked over to have a look for himself. From her angle on the floor, Emerald couldn't see what was in the box, but she could see Mercury liked it. A lot.

"Seriously?"

"Sure, but try it before mess with it."

"Spoilsport. But thanks." Mercury took something long and metal out of the box. "How'd you get it? Blackmail?"

It was an arm. A prosthetic arm.

"No need. He was working on this when I approached him. The most advanced technology Atlas has currently developed, he claims."

"Heh. We'll be the judge of that."

 _We?_

Emerald turned her head slightly so she could see Ruby. The girl was almost bouncing up and down, awe sparkling her eyes.

The metal right arm just seemed to attach. It was much less hassle than the prosthetic legs, but then this was far newer. It was also the perfect size for him. Now she thought about it, Emerald had no idea what happened to the arm that was removed. They probably used it to try and isolate the poison, but maybe it had also been used for measurements.

 _Morbid thoughts. Move on._

"Feels pretty good. Almost feels exactly like the original. They did a good job."

From what Emerald could tell, the prosthetic arm was moving naturally. Mercury didn't test punches or anything extreme like that, but he seemed satisfied with it. Happy. And this was before he and Ruby inevitably took it to bits.

But there was something that could make this day even better.

Emerald looked at Tai and used her Semblance so only he could hear her. "Mercury's just been given a clean bill of health from Waterbrook. Can we take him home now?"

Still watching Mercury study his arm, Tai managed to catch Emerald in the corner of his eye. Then he did the same thing with Qrow. Qrow was very obviously in a good mood.

"So doc, anything I need to know?"

Dr Waterbrook shook his head with a sigh. "Other than me being sure he is going to ignore my advice on restricting his training regime, I can confirm there is nothing more I can do for him."

"Oh, he'll stick to that, don't you worry." Tai was very chirpy there, ignoring Mercury's scowl. "Well then, who's ready to head back home?"

They all perked up at that. This place was depressing and creepy.

But Emerald thought she saw something flicker across Merc's expression before it settled on the smile as if there was nothing wrong.

Qrow left the room first. Ruby and Yang followed, both talking at a ridiculous speed over each other about something or other. Probably what they were going to do when they got home.

Mercury followed, but he stopped at the door and looked back. "Thanks for everything doc. Don't take this personally, but I hope I never see you again."

Dr Waterbrook chuckled. "That would be nice, though I would settle for not seeing you unless a friend has a training accident and you were visiting. Do try and keep out of trouble, though with this family that might be too much to ask."

 _Hey!_

Mercury chuckled and left the room.

Tai shook his head, obviously amused. "He wasn't trying to be rude."

"Oh I know. I could name a few students I see so often for ridiculous reasons that I couldn't say the same. His problem is that he doesn't do things halfway."

"Don't I know it."

Emerald chuckled. "Goodbye doctor. And thank you."

"My pleasure Miss Sustrai. I hope you do well in the future and don't pick up his bad habits."

"Oh, don't worry. I won't."

Tai lingered in the room a few more seconds before following Emerald out. Probably talking about the eye doctor Waterbrook wanted to talk to or possible mental problems.

The others had stopped at the lift to wait for them. Emerald could now make out that Ruby and Yang were discussing quiz shows and were complaining that 'celebrities' often got easier questions than most people. She actually agreed with that. Even Mercury was amused at the huge gap in difficulty.

That was the trip. Ruby and Yang chatting about inconsequential things with Tai pitching in every now and then. Mercury would just listen, calm and relaxed. Qrow was more tense, but did well to hide it with only his eyes betraying unease.

The airship dropped them off in Vale. A security measure so as few as possible would know where any of them lived. Emerald hadn't thought it necessary until quite recently, though she knew Qrow had been doing it for years.

Ruby and Yang had only hidden it since they met Emerald and Mercury.

 _Is it just me or is the house somehow closer to the port than it used to be?_

Obviously it wasn't, but still.

Mercury hesitated near the front door. Now he was finally home, he seemed…unsure.

Ruby noticed. She came back out of the house and took his hand. She tugged gently, then let go to head back in.

Mercury stepped forward. He glanced in his hand at the winged fox cufflink. He followed Ruby inside.

Emerald smiled.

Yang called out, asking who was up for a game of Conquering Remnant.

* * *

Hazel was not surprised at the news Cinder was dead. The problem with her aura made her as vulnerable as a civilian and while Maidens were protected from long range attacks, brute force was a real risk. It only took one lucky hit.

Cinder had been young and arrogant. She should have known better.

However, they had learned a few things. It was what they didn't know for certain that was dangerous.

"Hazel. You have spoken to our informant in length?"

"Yes ma'am. There is some evidence that the previous subordinate Emerald is a Maiden, likely Spring. She was seen with Qrow Branwen with her hand on his snapped spine. Cinder used a fireball that somehow got redirected to hit Azure. It would also explain Mercury Black's position; he chose his co-worker over his boss."

Dr Watts shrugged. "So. Black lied back then. That makes this Emerald an easy target."

"A protected one," Hazel reminded him. "She also has a very dangerous Semblance in a one-on-one fight."

"There is also evidence against." Salem thought for a moment before continuing. "That Semblance makes it very difficult to trust eye witness accounts. Azure is also not familiar with Maidens, so would not be able to identify one. I also sensed no deception from young Mercury Black while he was interrogated. He said he did not know the Spring Maiden's name, but she wasn't a student at any academy. I believe he was being truthful."

No one questioned that.

It did leave a problem.

Tyrian spoke up. "The girl would have a death wish if she used an illusion that she could have Maiden power, especially as a decoy."

"I asked specifically," Hazel stated. "There was no eye glow. Having fought a Maiden, she would not miss that detail out if it was an illusion and it does cast doubt on the idea she is an inexperienced Maiden." That was part of the reason Hazel wasn't completely convinced. "Taiyang Xiao Long and Qrow Branwen also didn't use Semblances, so they could have been responsible."

Dr Watts considered. "What do we know about Taiyang Xiao Long? Is he going to be a threat?"

"He is the one who killed Cinder when her attention was focused on Emerald. I did not have much time to investigate him. All I know is that he is a teacher at Signal and a retired Huntsman. I would say he was no one of interest, if it wasn't for the fact he took in those two and he was a member of team STRQ." A team that had been no end of trouble.

Tyrian chuckled. "I could arrange an accident. Maybe even for a few of the children."

"That won't be necessary." All eyes went to Salem. "It is possible Emerald is the Spring Maiden. That would mean she would be in Haven at the same time of their hosting. Unlike Beacon, we have easy access. We will let her and her family be for now. If she remains in Beacon and doesn't compete, then we will know and we will also know that Leonardo is no longer trusted. There remains the possibility she is not."

In other words, wait and see.

Hazel could see the wisdom in that. Along with two powerful Huntsmen, with the time cell and simulator now in their possession along with the Spring Maiden owing him a huge favour, Mercury Black would almost certainly be with her and fighting fit. He was just as much of an annoyance, if not a bigger one, than Qrow Branwen.

"The Winter and Summer Maidens remain unknown. You are to continue your search for them Tyrian, unless our informant reports a problem."

"Yes, milady."

"Hazel, your training of RNBW was excellent and we only lost them because they were told not to fight on the same terms as their target. Train another group to infiltrate Beacon next year."

"As you wish." It was easy to find the right candidates. Many were desperate for an opportunity and they did not need to be told everything.

"Dr Watts, I wish for a more accurate situation on the White Fang. While Adam Taurus is certain of his leadership, there have been movements that are not beneficial to us."

"Understood."

Hazel was sure the uncertainty stemmed from a Faunus winning the Vytal Festival the year before and, more interestingly, the cameras showed Weiss Schnee cheering for her. Adam Taurus was sure to be furious.

Hazel had waited years for his revenge on Ozpin. He could wait longer.

* * *

Leonardo claimed there had never been a student that had travelling by lightning as a Semblance.

Ozpin rubbed his temples. He was very sure now he couldn't trust Leo, but…he sighed. He could be telling the truth there.

The issue was that the next Vytal Festival was held at Haven. What would Leo do? He had allowed a dangerous team into Beacon and he must have known what might have happened. Their plan must have changed _after_ the team arrived and that was odd.

Ozpin also feared for the students of Haven.

There had been a few relationships established between Beacon and Haven students, so as long as they were in contact, then things were manageable. But what would happen if Leo had to choose between his students and whatever was wrong?

James was almost certainly heading to Haven for the Festival. Ozpin had not intended to. The Fall Maiden was known and Beacon still needed protectors.

There was also the huge problem that Emerald was the Spring Maiden. It was likely they knew that now. There were many ways they could force Emerald to get the Relic for them and they didn't even need to get her to Haven. She would already be there.

Ozpin hesitated.

How much did those two know?

He would talk about it with Qrow. The man had called him to ask about rainbow Dust that day, but Ozpin had had to be the bearer of bad news. The whole crystal had to be used and, although he had never experienced a Dust crystal that was two types, he knew the one they had couldn't be used to heal.

However, it was an answer to the source of black Dust and why there had been less rainbow Dust found recently. But why and how did rainbow Dust become corrupted?

Qrow had recently messaged him about a problem with his magic as well. That would be a topic Ozpin needed to address soon. They could drain Maiden magic; they could take Qrow's shapeshifting. But then, Qrow would have noticed and mentioned it.

That would be in a few days. Qrow's focus was on Mercury's recovery.

Mercury Black.

James' report was late. That was unlike him.

Ozpin opened up the previous report and read it again.

The room at the end of the control room at LiaGuard had held a teleporter. They had not known that as there were no records of what the device was anywhere in the building and there had been many things in the labs they were trying to decipher. The machine had been destroyed after the security breach, but there was no evidence to suggest where the teleporter connected to. If they still had the notes, they could build a new one provided they had the materials.

There was also a worrying amount of research conducted on drugs aimed specifically at disabling Huntsmen.

A far more pressing concern was that Venus Solgale and her accomplice had yet to be found.

Beacon's most recent graduates had stayed close to Vale. That wasn't unusual, but it was a relief. There had been far less reports of human Grimm and there were now a select group of Huntsmen that now carried silver Dust weapons, but it was unknown how many there were.

It was unlikely LiaGuard was their only base of operations on that topic.

Ozpin refilled his mug. He did plan on wandering the school grounds for a while to help clear his head, but then he spotted that someone was in the lift. A few moments later, there was a knock.

"Come in."

Blake Belladonna entered. "Good evening professor. I've just come to say I'm needed home next week, so I won't be in classes."

"Thank you for letting me know. If you don't mind me asking, is everything okay at home?"

"There's nothing to worry about." Her cat ear twitch most likely gave away her reason. Ozpin did know her family history, especially her father's past occupation.

"Then I won't pry any more. Do you require an airship?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll be fine."

"Safe travels, Miss Belladonna."

She nodded and headed back to the lift.

Ozpin took a sip of his mug with a soft smile.

* * *

Mercury opened his eyes. He wasn't surprised to see the clock read 3:26am. Five and a half hours sleep. That wasn't abnormal.

He had had enough of being in bed though. He got up, pulled a shirt on and left the blanket corner folded. Emerald would know he had gotten up for a sleepless night then and hadn't just vanished. It was a habit they had started when working under Cinder, though it had always been Emerald that left in the middle of the night.

The rest of the house was still asleep.

But right now, he needed to be outside.

Talaria tilted her head and followed him. He didn't bother arguing. She wasn't going to bother him.

Mercury sat down not far from the front door. The light would make him visible to those inside, but he expected them to get the message and leave him alone for a while.

Two facts. One: they wouldn't kill him so long as they had use for him. Two: LiaGuard was too valuable for Ozpin and Ironwood to leave in Salem's hands. Who needed hope to get through a bad time? He had just expected it to take much longer than it did. He wouldn't have been surprised if it took a year or more.

He had also expected it to take much longer for him to recover, though he suspected there were long term problems and he wanted to get those fixed as soon as possible.

Emerald had been willing to make herself a prime target. For him.

For once in his life, Mercury wanted answers. He also knew where he wanted to get them from.

The area was…peaceful.

How weird.

20 weeks.

He had missed Emerald's birthday. Ruby's was up next now, but he had an idea for her. Emerald though would take some thought.

Mercury frowned.

There was something in him that was _off_. It wasn't physical, but it didn't feel like there was something wrong with his aura though. It was almost like…it was something extra. It hadn't been there when he was imprisoned, but his memories before being healed were fragmented.

 _I think…It was there almost from the beginning. Not in the simulator, but not long afterwards. What is it?_

He would need to investigate some time.

Footsteps.

They were Qrow's.

"Hey Silvertongue," were his words, but Mercury could tell he was really asking if he could stay.

"Felix."

Qrow settled next to him and offered a mug of what smelt like hot chocolate. He took it and nursed it for a moment. He didn't fancy burning his mouth yet. After a few moments though, he took a sip.

"This tastes different from the others. Richer, not sweeter."

"It's dark chocolate. Thought white might be too sweet."

"Probably. This isn't bad." Hot chocolate wasn't really his thing, but he would prefer that now over coffee or tea. He would give it a few more minutes before taking a proper gulp.

 _I've been really spoiled here._

Even more bizarrely, he had gotten used to it.

"Can't sleep or already up for the day?"

Mercury considered that. "Up for the day." What _was_ he going to do today?

Qrow hummed. His stance became more relaxed; stretching out his legs and leaning back on his arms. "Any long term plans or just day by day?"

Seriously, how did he do that?

"Both."

"That had better include not doing anything stupid until we know you're fully recovered."

Mercury knew the physical effects. But come to think of it… "What sort of things are normal?"

"Depression. Flashbacks. Triggers for flashbacks and depression. Things like that."

"Oh." He had seen those before. In Emerald after Mountain Glenn. He would owe Luna forever for her help. "I don't think that will be a problem."

"Yeah, that is your problem." Qrow was still casual, but that bothered him. "But I'm more worried about your control."

"Fair point." He had forgotten what it felt like to be at full aura and out of pain. That would also take some getting used to. He didn't need to get back into fighting; he needed to be sure he was in control of his aura.

He really didn't want to hurt his family in a spar.

Where was he even at in comparison to them now?

"The girls wanted me to ask what you wanted for your birthday."

Mercury blinked. That must have been at least a month ago. Maybe two. What was the date? "I take it freedom isn't going to count?"

"We're back to human rights, not a present."

Human rights.

And hadn't Emerald and Mercury given them very bewildered looks during _that_ chat.

"So by this logic, Emerald can't refuse when I get her something."

"True. So…Any ideas? I know Yang's got something to pay you back for getting her hair scissors on hers."

Mercury chuckled. Somehow, they had both agreed to one joke gift and one proper gift, provided money wasn't an issue. Hair scissors and a CD of her favourite band with a code for free download onto her scroll had been his gifts to her.

"I…never gave it any thought." Mercury thought about, then decided to just get it over with. He put the mug down on the grass. "How much of the house did you see?"

Qrow didn't immediately reply. "The whole first floor, except for what was actually in that cupboard in the hall. Never saw the basement."

That was better than Mercury had thought. He would have much preferred Qrow seeing none of it, but it could be worse.

"How accurate?"

Mercury shrugged. "Save for the cupboard, which had his tools of the trade in it: all of it." He didn't look at Qrow. "Matter of interest, if you knew back then what you know now, what would you have done?"

Qrow had never lied to him.

Mercury needed to know he could still trust that.

Again, Qrow didn't answer right away. This time though, he was considering the answer himself. "I would like to say I still wouldn't throw you away. I probably would have got an apartment in Vale for the two of us and only had you meet the others under controlled meetings."

"That has a lot of problems." Mercury could have attacked him, could have snuck off…The possibilities were endless.

"For me, yeah. Though maybe you wouldn't have minded a little more freedom. As I remember, you found the girls very irritating. Especially when Ruby decided you could only spend a certain amount of hours alone a day."

She was almost certainly going to do that again for a while.

They were very affectionate in LiaGuard. When they got home though, Ruby and Yang had been very uncertain about actually touching him. Before, Ruby had been determined to get him used to it. Emerald hadn't changed, still was openly affectionate whenever she wanted or thought he needed it, but never tried to sneak up on him.

Honestly, Mercury didn't mind the affection, but he was a little grateful to Tai for deciding he was going to sleep in his own bed for his first night home. He could tell by the way the sofas had been moved that they had slept in a pile a few times. He didn't mind it before, but he needed some personal space for a while.

"Zwei was worse," Mercury responded to Qrow's words. He glanced up at a nearby tree. "And Talaria's not happy with me."

Talaria snarled playfully, but nodded fiercely once.

Qrow chuckled.

 _Freezing. Exhausted._

Mercury shivered as he panted a little. He understood his aura had just shattered, but he had no idea why. Now he was very cold and very tired.

"Sorry Silvertongue."

Before he could figure out what Qrow was apologising for, he felt the man's arms around him, pulling him closer with his head now resting on his chest. Qrow was warm and had obviously done it to try and warm him up, so Mercury didn't mind too much. The apology for not asking permission was nice though.

"Shit." Qrow must have looked up. "Talaria, fetch a blanket." Qrow's hand went to Mercury scalp, carefully massaging. The same spot he had before. It did help calm Mercury a little. But he was struggling to keep his eyes open. "Any idea what happened?"

"No." Something hot nudged against his hands. He grabbed the mug without much thought. "Doesn't hurt, but really tired…" Cold went without saying. "Should just sleep it off."

"You hope."

Qrow wasn't wrong.

But Mercury wasn't going to tell him that.

Qrow sighed. "Drink up. Do you still want to stay out here?"

Mercury took three proper gulps. He barely noticed the taste as the heat rushed down his throat. "Yeah." He swallowed the rest quickly. That went quite a way to warm him up. He dropped the empty mug and allowed his muscles to shiver.

The hand left Mercury's head. Something wrapped around him, keeping the wind out. The blanket.

"Go to sleep Silvertongue. We'll figure it out later."

Wasn't much to figure out, really. Apparently having your aura ripped out of you three times and never being allowed to regenerate to 100 had side effects. Who knew?

Mercury resisted a yawn.

He would think another time. He was actually very comfy, now warmer and felt safe. He closed his eyes and ignored the fact he was curled up in Qrow's lap.

That hand returned to its resting place, gently massaging his scalp.

It only took a few seconds for Mercury to allow himself to slip into sleep.


	16. Lulls and Thoughts

**AN: In no way am I connected to RWBY**

* * *

It may be his room as well, but Mercury still knocked. "You okay Em?"

Emerald blinked and glanced at the closed door. She turned to the clock and saw she had been alone in their room for over three hours. She hadn't noticed, but that wasn't normal for her so they would worry. It had now been 24 hours since his aura had shattered, a major improvement of it doing so every three or so.

"I'm fine." Just thinking.

The door opened and he shut it behind him. Mercury obviously had no intention of leaving it at that without even seeing her. But while he sat next to her on her bed, he didn't say anything.

Emerald leaned into him. He didn't flinch. Instead, he put his hand on hers.

"Yang was wrong, you know," Emerald started casually.

"No surprise there, but what about?"

"Cinder. Back then, if I had aura and not you, she would have distracted the Fall Maiden so we could all get away. She left us to die because she didn't think we could be saved."

It had been odd to learn that.

Just as she was accepting Cinder only cared about her Semblance and not her.

Mercury didn't say anything. He was still quiet. Just waiting.

"She meant it when she said she wanted you and not the triplets at LiaGuard. She would have let you kill them. Would have…You could have taken it."

"To make Cinder believe me, I would have to give up the Spring Maiden. I wasn't going to do that. It wasn't much of a choice to me."

Emerald let out a soft sigh. Mercury could have chosen to die. He could have chosen to work for Cinder again. He chose to endure and wait.

"Qrow told you then?"

"He told me that Maidens can sometimes have dreams of previous hosts. I just thought that you had already had them and I had just missed it back then."

"…No. They started after Cinder died."

"Ah."

Emerald chuckled. "Did you know that Marcus Black had killed a Spring Maiden?" Say what you will about his 'parenting', but there was no doubt Marcus was a _very_ good killer.

He blinked. "Did he now? That would explain why Cinder wanted him. How long ago?"

"Not sure. But it was the one before the one that was attacked in Glade Town. In fact, those two were cousins. This one had been a Maiden for over a decade though and she was being trained by Raven. Saw her as a mother. Hell, the only reason Raven isn't the Maiden was because she wished the cousin had joined her. I don't know if I should tell Yang that."

The Maiden, Krystal, had certainly seen Raven as a mother figure. From what little she had dreamt, Emerald thought similar about Raven's feelings, save a few moments that Krystal had missed but Emerald didn't. Something about Raven's behaviour bothered her. Maybe…

Mercury spoke. "I don't think it's for us to say. They've never told Yang about the tribe; never told her the truth about her mother. That's going to be a problem once she does know. I'm almost curious as to who she is going to be angriest at."

Emerald shrugged weakly. She wasn't sure how to take this topic either, but she hated parents that abandoned their kids. Even if she thought Mercury's parents should have granted him that kindness.

"Have I ever woken you up?" She wasn't sure if she thrashed in her sleep or anything like that, but Mercury had always been out of the room when she woke up. Most likely due to his very irregular sleeping patterns of late.

"No. Are they that bad?"

"Not bad per se…" Yet was the word she was expecting soon. "I just don't know what I'll see."

"Whatever was most important to them probably. So Raven and…" Mercury hesitated for a moment before sighing. "Emerald, do you know anything about Cinder's boss?"

"Cinder's…boss? Cinder had a boss?"

"Yeah. A woman called Salem. Not someone you want to meet. Cinder was part of some conspiracy and from the way the others treated her, rather low on the ladder."

Emerald knew Mercury wasn't lying, but she just couldn't get that in her head. Cinder obeying someone else or allowing someone to talk to her the way Mercury suggested they did.

"Can't see it, can you?"

"No."

He chuckled. "I couldn't either and I don't think her being calm like she was when I was there was how she normally acted." He shrugged. "Anyway, if you dream of that, you'll know which one she is."

Emerald hoped she didn't or if she did, she wouldn't remember much of it when she woke up. "Do you want to talk about that?" He had never mentioned any of this before; probably didn't want to after all that's happened.

"…Not really."

"What's soul searching?" That is what Zephyr had said.

"I _really_ don't want to remember that."

That was enough of an answer. "Lie down. And take off your shirt."

Mercury glanced at her, seeming to think about it. After a moment, he pulled his shirt over his head and lay down on his stomach. His breathing was a little more controlled than normal.

Emerald tried not to let it bother her. The sight of no scars on his back helped with that slightly. Felt his muscles relax under her fingers. Massages were something they all enjoyed, whether they were giving or receiving one. These days, Mercury tended to be more on the receiving end.

Mercury's aura shattered.

Emerald flinched and drew back.

"Emerald?"

"I-Do you want me to keep going?"

"Yeah."

He was cold to touch now. If it was like the other times, he would be quite tired as well. He hadn't sounded tired then though. He was just calm.

"It's sorting itself out. Shouldn't be too long now." He sounded so certain.

"Yeah."

Emerald warmed her fingers up a little. The muscles were still very relaxed under her touch. But she could tell he was fighting sleep easily.

"I thought I heard Qrow on the phone the other day talking to Autumn."

"Apparently to tutor. Things that Cinder wouldn't have focused on."

"And?"

Emerald let out a sigh. "I…don't know. I can't see what this power is for save for fighting or healing."

"That's probably her point. Any specifics?"

This was what Emerald wasn't sure how to bring up with him. "Well, you notice that Tai is really struggling not to focus on us when you need it more?" Who thought she would ever be complaining about someone being _too good_ of a parent?

"If you're trying to figure out a way to tell me about the idea of leaving me here while the others return to Beacon so Tai and Qrow can focus on me, I overheard Ruby and Yang discussing it. More like arguing, really."

That was a surprise. "Really?"

"Well, they thought I was asleep."

That made more sense. "Right." Now what?

Mercury sighed. He rolled over and pushed himself up so he was sitting. "It's not the worst idea I've ever heard." His gaze went from her to out the window. "I'm honestly thinking about not returning to Beacon at all."

She…couldn't say she was surprised to hear that. She moved so she was sitting beside him again, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Do you have any plans for the future?"

Emerald's plans for the future were still up in the air, if she was honest with herself. But she believed she had one and that was a step forward.

"…Sort of. Recovering first. Doing a lot of little things I never got around to doing." He frowned at the window, still not looking at her. "Then leave and travel. The long route."

"Alone?"

"…I don't know. But probably. I can't play that role anymore and I don't want to try. I think I need to sort out what's a role and what's not and I need to be alone for that."

…

Ironically, it was that very reasoning that had Emerald returning to Beacon next week.

"Eris-"

"It won't be soon. I'm just…thinking about it. Either way, I don't want to go back to Beacon."

Ever since leaving Cinder, they had only been voluntarily separated once: when Emerald went to Hogwarts the year Mercury didn't. That ache was still fresh in her mind; almost like she had lost something so important for good despite being in constant touch.

She had _hated_ it.

"…What is it? The classes? The people?"

"Both. The whole atmosphere. It was too…blissful. Most of the kids; they have no idea what the real world is like. Yeah, they see things in the paper, but it's not real to them. Even when it's staring them in the face. Unless it directly affects them, they don't care about anything other than themselves and that is going to be what kills them." He groaned and the back of his head hit the wall gently. "I just don't want to deal with them anymore."

"JWMP and BRN aren't like that."

He smiled softly, eyes closed. "No, they're not."

Emerald could list a few others, even from other schools, but she had made her point. That it was something he had already considered didn't help her argument.

"When were you thinking?"

"Not for quite a few months yet. I want to enjoy being home."

"Plenty of time to try and talk you out of it then."

"Sure."

Emerald didn't chuck him out of her bed. Instead, she let him fall asleep using her as a leaning post, though she soon manoeuvred him so he was lying down with his head in her lap. She knew from experience that was far more comfortable.

Even if she still had no idea why Merc was so comfy to fall asleep on.

* * *

Daisy had decided to go home for the weekend and had brought Violet with her. She had never been to Patch and she was interested in the island. On top of that, something had put JWMP and BRN into a very good mood and they had started a prank war with five teams in their fourth year. No doubt REY would join in when they returned to Beacon on Sunday.

Needless to say, a lot of teams that knew what to expect had decided to head home for the weekend.

There wasn't a city in Patch. There wasn't much of a town either. All the bare necessities were there, such as a pharmacy, hospital and school. Most of people's supplies came from the marketplace and were as fresh as could be. Most were locals but some were travelling salesmen.

More than twice a year, Daisy complained about wanting to move to the city. Her parents had been stubborn though and had excellent contacts in both Patch and Vale. With Vale City so close and easy to get to, they saw no need to move. When Daisy was accepted into Beacon, they had even less of a reason.

Violet's jaw dropped when she saw all the stalls. "How many are there?"

"Never counted and it changes anyway," Daisy replied. "On the right will be the fish caught by the Wilder Brothers. Salmon, cod, trout, herring, scallops…You want it, they got it and they only caught it late last night or very early this morning. It's Friday so it'll be Flint selling today. On the left are products from Cliffside Farm. They tend to deal with animal produce. Fruit and veg are a little further in."

Her parents were on very good terms with most of these people and Daisy had known the Wilder brothers since she was little. Brine used to babysit her.

It wasn't just food. Everything from handbags to furniture to trinkets, depending on who the travelling salesmen were that week. Some stayed for more than a week, but none had been a permenant fixture since the elderly Mrs Redwood started selling statues hand carved by her inspired by her travels when she was younger.

It was summer, so the theme was Vacuo and its close villages.

While the hand woven baskets were pretty, Daisy wanted something a little more reliable and she could see that 'bow' was for show and would be little good at firing an arrow. Mrs Redwood didn't sell weapons, even during winter when Atlas was the inspiration and they were known for weapons.

Weapons weren't really sold here. Some were, but they were mostly for decoration and were far too fancy for use in the field.

Today, there was a couple selling clothes. Daisy immediately headed over to them, Violet following with a sigh.

"I won't be long," Daisy promised. "Besides, you might see something you like."

"Maybe," Violet replied with a raised eyebrow. "But the last time you said you wouldn't be long, you took two hours. Shorter than normal maybe but it wasn't quick."

Had it been two hours? How time flew. But this was only one stall. "Good afternoon. How long are you staying for?"

The woman behind the counter smiled. "Not much longer. Much of our stock is already gone, so I'm afraid there's not much to see. See anything you like and let me know."

Daisy could see why their stock had gone so fast. There were a few things she liked, but they weren't in her size. Violet did get a dress that would be good for a prom, but not for clubbing. Unlike her namesake, it was a thistle colour.

"When you want to wear that, I've got some jewellery that would go well with it." Daisy knew Violet didn't shop for jewellery either and only had what others had gotten her.

"I can't think of a time I would wear it," Violet admitted.

"How about when Sawyer asks you out?"

Violet froze, a blush blossoming on her cheeks. "I-I-"

"Oh please. I've seen how he looks at you lately. It's obvious. Any day now he's going to be asking you on a date. That's good for a fancy restaurant or that new ballroom. It's a bit much if he choose something a little more low key and I think that's where he's going to start."

"B-But-"

Daisy was enjoying this. "Maybe you should get out of your school uniform a little more-"

 _Now_ Violet found her tongue. "Okay. Shut up. I am not taking _your_ advice for dating. I still remember your suggestions for the Festival dance."

"And there were quite a few girls dressed like that, or some in more revealing, so you can't complain." None had been too over the top even by Daisy's standards, but there were more girls interested in flirting than those that had gone the modest route.

Violet glared at her and took the dress to the till.

Daisy waited patiently, until she noticed something.

On one hand, Daisy tended to avoid the crazy sisters whenever she could. On the other hand, the younger one was wearing something she definitely _hadn't_ been the week before last.

Violet sighed as she began forward. "Really Daisy?"

"I don't want to pick a fight this time. I just want to learn something."

But five step forward and she realised two things. One: Ruby was not the only one wearing it. Second: Mercury was back.

 _No wonder everyone's in such a good mood._

Violet hesitated when she saw him, but then her features hardened and she followed at a quicker pace. It took Daisy a moment to realise what had come over her.

Of course, the stall they had stopped at was Taiyang Xiao Long's. He was still setting up and had probably only left Signal an hour ago.

She might not like his kids, but Daisy couldn't deny his baking was _magnificent._

Emerald spotted her first. "Hey Daisy." That drew the others' attention. "What do you want?"

Glad they cut to the heart of it as Daisy did have better things to do and places to be, she pointed at Emerald's left hand. "Where'd you get those rings?"

It was a real gold band, Daisy was very certain of that. She also had no doubt the red, green and grey gemstones were real and not fakes. The stones were placed nearly side by side all the way around with the gold band keeping them together. It may be thin, but it must have cost a fortune. She had no idea where they got the money for it, but she didn't care. She had enough to get what she wanted.

Emerald and Ruby had one. Yang didn't. Mercury's left hand was in his pocket and his right had a glove, but he probably had one too. His new dark grey almost racer jacket had almost certainly come from the stall she had just left.

Yang pointed to her right. "Traveller that way. Bolt they went by."

"Bolt?" She had never heard of it.

"Yeah," Ruby chirped up, very hyper. "We placed an order on Tuesday and picked it up today. There's plenty of stuff on sale now though. A lot expensive and some not."

Daisy raised an eyebrow. "All real?"

"All real," Emerald confirmed. "I know the difference."

True. She did.

Daisy made to leave, but Violet didn't follow her.

"Mercury, sorry to ask but…Have you seen a young man with a rainbow tattoo on his wrist?"

The smile faded from his face. That gave Daisy the answer.

"And a Pegasus tattoo on his right arm?"

"Yeah. What happened to him? Is he…?"

"He died. I'm sorry."

Violet swallowed. It was what they had been expecting but…

Daisy put an arm around her shoulder. "See you at school." With that, Daisy guided her away from the group and began to head back to her house. It was a bit of a walk, but it didn't matter.

But Violet pulled away. She brushed the tears away. "I'm fine. I think I already knew…Now…Have you ever heard of Bolt?"

Daisy gave her a look. "No. But we can come back tomorrow."

"I want to go now. I've got a dress. Might as well get some jewellery to go with it."

If Daisy didn't know something was wrong, Violet willingly going shopping would tip her off. She wasn't okay and she wouldn't be for a while. Ryder might have been her cousin, but they were more like siblings.

Bolt was run by three people.

Daisy could see they preferred to sell genuine stones and metals, but they did have replicas for much lower prices. It genuinely surprised her how varied they were.

Violet picked up a Pegasus necklace.

Daisy insisted on paying for it.

Then she made a note to talk to Sawyer. A relationship might be what Violet needed to help move forward, but delicacy was needed here.

* * *

There had been no word from Salem.

That should be a relief.

It wasn't.

Headmaster Lionheart looked down at the papers. Of the eight teams that had graduated last year, five were dead and the others were broken up. Missing members.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was only supposed to be one small favour and she would leave him alone.

But one favour led to another to another to another-

But she had left him alone. He had done what she had said and he was left alone.

He had told Watts he didn't know the Spring Maiden. He had handed over all the information he had on the Spring Maiden (Krystal Umi) years ago. He knew it had been useful as her cousin has inherited but he didn't have anything up to date and he didn't know if Watts believed that.

There was no order about new students this year. They weren't sending him any this year but they might next year and he was ready in case they asked.

But Haven was hosting next year.

Without the Spring Maiden, he couldn't get them the Relic.

If he didn't get her the Relic, she wouldn't leave him alone.

He needed to find the Spring Maiden.

* * *

Saturday night found the kids sleeping in a pile in the living room. With the girls heading back to Beacon the next morning, this was the last night for a while they would be together.

Tai took a photo for the album, but left them alone and headed into the kitchen to find Qrow. Rather than close the door for privacy, he left it open so the kids were in view.

"That is what they should be like at their age. Mostly carefree and enjoying the final years of childhood."

Qrow scoffed and took a drink from a coffee. He didn't argue though. To Tai though, it still looked like he hadn't had much sleep recently.

"At least with no Vytal Festival this year, it should be a relaxing one."

"Glynda would disagree with that. These guys and their friends have been causing trouble since day one. She even thinks STRQ wasn't as bad."

Tai could believe that, if only because his and Summer's parents had never been called to the school. "They haven't done any permenant damage yet."

"Yet," Qrow noted with a snort.

"And at that point, I'll take all their Dust, Crescent Rose and Yang's bike until they earn it back."

"And Emerald?"

"Her favourite books. I just haven't decided which ones yet." Tai rubbed his eyes. "Your contacts reported anything worrying or can I go back to wondering when I'll next be called to the Headmaster's Office?"

Qrow shrugged. "I haven't heard anything and that's the problem."

"Atlas isn't our problem and Ironwood might be a little too stubborn, but he'll find them when they come out. It's not like we're planning on heading over there."

"On Haven either."

"A problem for next year." Tai did know the danger and he would have to tell Emerald eventually. But he had plenty of time before that. "I'm worried they're going to accidentally tear down Beacon first."

"Glynda would rebuild it. Then Ozpin would probably give them rewards for managing something we couldn't. I'm curious as to who would have won that betting pool. I know the teachers were involved."

Tai chuckled and grabbed a coffee himself.

"But the papers have been finalised. They are now official and their legal names are Mercury Crawford and Emerald Ryu."

"That was quick." Not that Tai was complaining, but he had expected it to take longer. Legal matters could often take months.

"They had Dr Waterbrook as a reference."

There was that.

Changing a legal name wasn't exactly _difficult_ , but normally a reference was needed to ensure they weren't criminals. The more highly respected the reference, the less hassle the name change, especially as Emerald and Mercury didn't have any legal papers at all.

It would buy Mercury some breathing room from those who knew Marcus Black as Marcus Black and, while he wasn't entirely sure of her reason, Tai suspected Emerald had wanted to change her name to help move forward and put the past behind her.

More importantly, it had been _their_ decision.

"Glynda also asked exactly what stories from our glory days we passed on. I'm not going to tell her much, but I know you've told them some. Which ones?"

Their reminiscing of their school days went deep into the night.

* * *

Blake didn't like this.

Last year she had no problem sneaking into White Fang meetings. They looked at the ears, saw a Faunus and stopped there. Winning the last Tournament meant many Faunus would recognise her even with the mask.

She did not want to give the idea that she supported the White Fang's current actions.

Coral had agreed to go in her place. Blake had refused and had thought that was the end of it, only for Jasper to message her and say his sister had gone anyway.

Now Blake had a rough idea what Sun must have felt like last year.

But calling her could get people to ask awkward questions that could bring her to harm, so Blake instead began to pace. She was sure Coral would be fine, but she couldn't stop the worry. In a way, Coral being in this situation was Blake's fault.

One safe house was ready and was in Menagerie. Her parents were looking after the place and the people within. Jasper had been the first to arrive there along with two others, both a little younger than him. Coral had been very grateful.

Which is part of the reason Blake suspected she had done this.

There had never been any violence at a White Fang meeting before, but they had never been _this_ divided before.

And Blake had no idea how Adam would respond.

Before, it had been the people Adam had allied with that would kill the deserters. But Blake had been hearing rumours that Adam was starting to do that himself and Blake never thought she would ever see the day Adam turned against a Faunus.

Blake collapsed on her bed.

Emerald was returning to Beacon tomorrow. Even if she was having private tutoring, Blake could ask her afterwards. Maybe some of the other Faunus weren't happy with who Adam was allying with. But if these were the same people who were behind the kidnappings, Blake could see why people weren't so willing to back out.

This worrying was getting her nowhere.

It was late, but it was easy enough to sneak into the gym. There were a few techniques that Blake had yet to perfect and she knew that, while she won the Tournament, there were those that were more skilled than her. She needed to keep practicing.

With Adam so prone to violence, she needed to be ready for when she met him again.

The door to the gym was already unlocked.

Ren and Nora were inside, doing some fancy acrobats that Blake had never seen. It was going well, Blake assumed, but she was very sure that Nora was not supposed to lose her footing and nearly crash into a wall.

"You needed at least another spin there Nora," Blake noted. "Probably two."

"I'll try four," Nora grinned and ran back to the other side to try again.

Blake and Ren exchanged a tired smile.

Still, a relaxing evening spent training with her teammates sounded like a good idea.


	17. Truth and Training

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Qrow had dropped off all four kids at Beacon and headed to the Headmaster's Office. The original plan had been for Qrow to attend the tutoring session between Emerald and Amber, then return home with Mercury, but Mercury changed his mind and decided to stay all day and find his own way home.

Qrow and Tai weren't happy with that. They did _not_ like Mercury wandering around on his own. When they let it be known, Mercury replied that his aura would respond better to a fight rather than rest and starting a fight in the middle of Vale during the day was going to attract attention. He had a point, but they didn't care.

Finally, they came to an agreement. Mercury wasn't to leave Beacon until he was coming home. He was to come home straight away with no detours and to message them when he was leaving, which they would check with Ruby or Yang. He was to stick to main streets with many witnesses, leave before sunset and be _very_ careful.

Knowing it was the best he was going to get, he agreed. At least he didn't argue about it or get angry.

There was about an hour before Emerald was meeting Amber in Emerald Forest of all places, so Qrow wanted to see Ozpin. They hadn't really spoken since Mercury had been recovered.

"You look tired Qrow."

"Don't start." He had heard enough from Tai.

Ozpin left the window and sat behind his desk. "I saw the aura animal a moment ago. It is still a winged fox."

Qrow wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. It did mean that his aura was becoming more stable and that was a good thing. "Last I saw him, his friends had decided on a dodgeball game."

"Yes, a pleasant break from their activities recently," Oz chuckled. The amusement faded quickly. "What I should tell you is that Mercury wants to talk to me today. I intend to tell him everything."

Everything.

"You can read him?" Qrow was very surprised by that. It was little more than stalling, but it was important to him.

"No. It spoke. Distorted perhaps but then I don't think it's something he's done before." Not to Qrow's knowledge. "He probably got the idea of the Patronus. I do wish to know what you have told him and the others."

Qrow collapsed in the chair opposite. "Nothing. Didn't even tell him about Salem. Can't imagine what he must have thought when he saw her. He did suspect that Cinder worked for someone, but little more. The younger ones only know about the Maidens. Yang was very stubborn. She knows about Salem as Cinder's boss, but I know Emerald doesn't. She knows the name, but thinks they're co-workers. Unless Mercury's told her for some reason." A warning in case she sees her in those dreams most likely. "Ruby doesn't know about Salem at all."

Ozpin let out a long breath. "What about silver eyes or Relics?"

"No to both. We'll tell Emerald soon." As in sometime before next year's Vytal Festival.

"Do you have anything against me telling Mercury everything?"

…

"It's his choice."

"You know him best. He trusts you to keep his best interests in mind. I have done much wrong by him."

"You weren't the only one."

That tournament. Mercury should never have been taken in the first place. There was plenty of blame to go around there. It was more Qrow's fault that Mercury originally damaged his eye; he had been the one to split them up.

Ozpin was patient. Waiting his answer.

Qrow didn't need to think. Mercury wanted answers and he had gone to Ozpin for them. Not Qrow. That meant Mercury wanted Qrow in his life on a personal level, not a professional.

It…didn't hurt. That the answers to questions of the war he had been thrown into were not going to come from Qrow.

"I think he deserves to know everything."

"…Alone or all four?"

"Alone. Give them the choice of what to hear."

It wasn't a matter of what they _deserved_ to know or even a matter of what they _needed_ to know. It was what they _wanted_ to know.

If Yang knew everything, she could protect her siblings better. Emerald wanted to be a normal student. She should know about the dangers of the Spring Maiden being at Haven, but she didn't want to know what they were up to if it didn't concern her or her family. Ruby normally didn't see the bigger picture, but focused on the little people. She may not want to know so she wouldn't be distracted from those who needed help on a much smaller scale.

Honestly, Qrow wasn't sure what Mercury would want. He had been raised to never ask questions of his client unless it was very directly connected to the job. He had never asked them what they knew about Cinder; only given his information and doing what he had been told to. The only question he had asked had been about differences between Spring and Fall Maidens, which was due to his loyalty to Emerald.

Now though?

He may still be sane and far more collected than expected, but there was damage from his recent imprisonment. How much was uncertain.

As if he could read his mind, Ozpin asked his question. "What do you think Mercury has planned for his future?"

"I don't know."

"For the short term, I can 'help' there. I don't know how he has been recently, but after his experience, I cannot allow him back into Beacon without at least knowing if he has triggers and what they are. I am sorry. For everything."

It wasn't safe to allow someone who had been through a traumatic experience without treatment near other people.

Qrow growled, but didn't complain. Oz did have the other students to think about and Emerald had put someone in the infirmary for five days. Upon thinking more about it, one thing stuck in his mind.

Mercury had thought of Beacon as a prison rather than a school. Did he still think that?

"He may choose the advanced course and graduate far sooner. What was the necessities for that?" Qrow had heard about people who graduated Combat School early, but he assumed there was some criteria for it.

Ozpin considered. "Well, we are both in agreement he will pass the physical aspect when he is fully recovered." If his aura settled, he could pass it today. "However, there is a requirement that the individuals or group have spent a significant amount of hours within society. This is normally done through missions, although Mountain Glenn does not count as they did not have to interact with the public. Previous applicants fulfilled this by getting a job with the added bonus of earning money."

Qrow snorted.

Even Ozpin smiled.

"I am satisfied he would pass enough of his written subjects to not insult different cultures and traditions and I imagine he is still good enough to lie his way through the ethics exam."

That had Qrow chuckling.

"However, the earliest I can take him for his final test if he has met all the previous criteria is the end of the year. That test requires another Headmaster to oversee as well as me to remove personal bias."

Qrow digested all this.

Mercury hadn't mentioned anything about not returning to Beacon. He also hadn't made any mention of wanting to return either. He hadn't said much about anything serious really.

Qrow wanted to give him options; something he didn't have when he first enrolled at the school.

A Huntsman License gave him a lot of freedom, even if he didn't act like a Huntsman. If he wanted, it would help with becoming a mercenary. He would have the _choice._

"That is all up to him. For now though, I am very concerned about your shapeshifting."

That was the main reason Qrow was here. "I can turn into the crow easy enough. I just wake up human with no idea what happened in the middle and I'm told I act like a crow." Tai had even watched one in the wild for comparison while Qrow watched the kids.

"That is worrying. If I may?"

Qrow nodded and relaxed. Ozpin stood and walked around the desk, placing a hand on his shoulder. At first, it felt like Oz was aura reading him, but then the magic within Qrow flickered for a moment before Oz backed away again. He remained standing.

"To me, it feels like there's less of it." Magic was something Qrow still wasn't used to, but it did feel separate from his aura.

"That was my impression also," Oz agreed with a contemplative frown. "I believe that is what is causing the problem. It takes some magic to shift, but also requires magic for you to keep your mind during the transformation. You do not have enough for both. But then, what happened to it?"

Qrow shrugged. "It was working fine in the simulator." Slashing Ginger had certainly shut her up. "I didn't try again until I returned home and that was the first time."

Ozpin hummed. "There was the fight between Cinder and the unknown assailant. Do you think that's possibly the cause?"

"It's the only one I can think of, but it doesn't feel right." Surely if it had been forced from him, he would feel pain or at least discomfort. He felt fine and normal. "Maiden power hasn't affected it in the past." Those were sparring sessions with Amber to try and ensure she didn't accidentally use it.

"It shouldn't…" Ozpin rubbed his eyes. "I do have enough magic to stabilise it again and will do so, but there is nothing else you can tell me?"

Qrow closed his eyes and thought once more. This was a topic he had thought on often, but he was no closer to an answer. "Afraid not. I wasn't paying enough attention to get a more accurate timeline."

"I wouldn't expect you to. May I fix it?"

"Sure. I'm going to need it soon." Both Emerald and Amber knew he could turn into a crow. It was a good way to oversee their tutoring and yet not really influence it.

He wondered if Amber had ever considered teaching as a profession.

Qrow had already decided to hand in his notice.

* * *

Em and Merc said their goodbyes and headed off in different directions.

Yang watched them go.

She glanced at Melody, then at Ruby, then back to Melody again. She got the message quickly and drew the others into the next game. Yang steered Ruby away to a nearby bench.

[They're fine Ruby.]

[Why does it feel like they're leaving us behind?]

Yang sighed, hugging her sister closer. [Because they don't belong to the same world we do. We've been coddled too much. Far too lucky in life.]

How bitter those words felt.

[I know that. I'm trying Yang. I am.]

[I know.] So was she.

[But it hurts. All I want is to keep you all safe and I can't help but think I can't.]

[I won't let anything like that happen again. Not to you. Not to them. Not to Dad or Uncle Qrow. Not to me either. I promise.]

Ruby wouldn't meet her eyes. [We've said that before. It still happened.]

Yang swallowed.

It could have been avoided. That was the worst thing about that night. If Mercury had gone to them that night…If the four of them hadn't begun to drift apart…If they had talked about it earlier…Yang should have never let him out of her sight.

If.

Always if.

[It's not fair,] Yang agreed. [But we need to look forward, not back.]

Ruby was crying. Silently.

Yang just held her.

 _I promise Ruby. No more._

* * *

It had been quite a while since Emerald had been here. In fact, she hadn't been here since Initiation.

Their first tutoring session was in Emerald Forest, but she had no idea where. To make things simpler, Emerald brought Talaria with her. Tracking was something she was very good at. She would also be something for her to focus on while talking about this because Emerald did not like where their previous discussion about Maidens had gone.

 _Even if it was helpful._

Emerald glanced around. She was in the middle of the forest and hadn't paid any attention to where she was going, but she didn't feel lost. After all, Talaria had taken her in a straight line so it was easy enough to turn around and go back the way she came.

From the looks of it, Amber had chosen a completely random spot in the forest to wait.

"Hello Emerald." Amber sat down. Apparently, they were staying here.

Emerald sat opposite her. "If it wasn't for Talaria, I never would have found you."

"I've had a lot of time to practise and study my abilities and I think you would like a few of them." Amber's eyes went to Talaria up in the tree and her voice changed slightly. It was more hissing. ~Greetings young dragon. ~

Talaria's head snapped to attention. She glided down in front of Emerald and, to her astonishment, spoke back. ~Greetings.~

"H-How…?"

Amber smiled and turned back to Emerald. "Parseltongue. I found I could understand Harry when he used it. Unlike there where any serpent knows it, on Remnant none of them do. I think it's just Talaria as she from their world."

So Emerald could talk to Talaria without using Atlesian code. Maybe she couldn't before because she wasn't a full Maiden. But come to think of it, Bowright the three headed snake had acted very odd around her. "I don't understand."

"Then let's go back. You know the story, don't you?"

Where was this going? "Yes."

"The Maidens were given different abilities then, but we have all of them. Yet the Spring Maiden can heal and none of the others can."

Emerald shrugged a little. "Maybe the story was just inaccurate."

"I don't think so and I have a good reason for thinking that. What I think is that the magic evolved. Much like a Semblance, it evolved as time passed."

Emerald didn't ask deeper. "Maybe something to do with different hosts?"

"That's what I thought at first. But I think I was wrong. I think it's to do with nature itself. Spring is when nature rejuvenates after the harsh months, so that would be the season that would have healing."

"What does this have to do with Parseltongue? If snakes aren't sentient here, then it shouldn't have evolved as a power."

"It is not the language itself that is the power. Maidens have a good way with animals. It is not exactly _control_ , but more powerful communication. Not really too far off if you are wilful. For example, the horse I rode back then was more responsive to my power, not to his training. I only had the saddle and bridle because the stables wouldn't be happy if I didn't and I was returning him."

Emerald thought back. The horse did run off without Amber even looking at it and all he saw was a teenager running towards him, most likely something he was used to. "So you ordered him away back then?" Emerald hadn't seen anything to suggest she had.

"Yes. It's easiest on horses that have been trained to be obedient, but many domestic animals will respond."

Somehow, Emerald didn't want to test it on Zwei. "So that's an evolved power?"

"Yes. Another is something that takes immense concentration, but would have been very useful to me back then."

"You mean…In the fight?" Not a subject Emerald wanted to discuss.

"No. I mean before the fight started. It's not something I was good at then, but I've had a lot of practice since." Amber placed a hand on the tree nearest her. "How old would you say this tree is?"

That was a random change in topic. "No idea."

"Try. Put your hand on it, focus on that power within you and reach out to it. Ask how old it is?"

"It's a tree. It won't answer." Emerald still put her hand on it.

"Not in a language, no. But it doesn't need to talk for you to understand. It's easier to understand if you just try it."

Well, there had been a part of Emerald that had wondered exactly what Amber had been doing in the magical world. Apparently, she had been exploring her abilities. It had probably been the safest place to.

Emerald had been too busy having fun. Like a kid with no responsibilities. Like Qrow had been, actually.

With a deep breath, she calmed herself. The power inside _focused_.

Emerald sensed the wall. It was between her and something, but the thing on the other side wasn't the problem. It was her. Much concentration. Much effort. Cracks followed and the wall crumbled. A wave of _something_ followed.

The hand pulled away. Shaking.

"I'm going with around 170."

"176," Amber nodded. "What you sensed there were the animals within the tree. Everything from the insects to the bird's nest up in the canopy. It takes some practice to differentiate one animal from the other."

"One wasn't exactly an animal," Emerald muttered as she glanced up. A crow hopped onto a lower branch, now visible. "Oh."

Amber glanced up for a moment, then returned her gaze to Emerald. "My point is that you can learn to _feel_ through the environment. If I had done that before the fight, I would have known the person was standing several yards back from where I saw her. I would have sensed Mercury approaching seconds before he jumped on the fence."

"So you could have responded differently." A few seconds could be a long time in a fight. "Why didn't you?" It wasn't an accusation. It was curiosity.

"For one, I didn't think I needed to. Second, it takes a lot of concentration, even if I was well practiced and I wasn't. I would have needed to stop completely and focus. Now is a little easier, but it is still very disorientating." Amber looked up at Qrow. "It took years to get me to that point."

That was the nice thing about spending so much time on Earth, even if they had begun to get sick of it.

Emerald sighed. "I better get started then." Still, the exercises Mercury had learned from Ozpin about maintaining more than one train of thought would be useful here. Her Semblance had stabilised greatly when using it on multiple people but there were many uses for it.

Ruby had expressed a desire to learn it, as well as hand to hand. She was still absolutely atrocious at that. Yang had tried to teach her some but her style was entirely wrong for Ruby and, while Mercury had promised to, he had always been preoccupied with something else and then the tournament rolled around…

Then again, it was over a year until the next tournament. Emerald probably had _at least_ that much time to practice.

"That's all I wanted to show you today. Would you like another time?"

Emerald stared at Amber. She was calm, relaxed and not the slightest bit bothered that she was teaching someone who tried to rip her soul out in the thing that was the target in the first place.

It was just…unbelievable.

"Why?"

…

"I have been out in the field quite often this year, even using my power a little more openly than was good for me. Only one has attacked me and that was after an ill thought out fight; opportunity. If the people Cinder worked with know it is you, then you are going to be their main target. I'm trying to help."

"Liar." She must be lying.

"I'm not. I'm just not telling you the whole truth." She considered for a moment. "Emerald, I have my own life that has nothing to do with this. I quite enjoy it. I honestly don't have the will to harm someone who won't attack me or an innocent. I don't forgive what you did, but I'm satisfied you were punished for it and won't do it again. There's no need to keep bringing it up."

There was more to it. Amber even admitted it.

But…

"How about the same time next week then?" The sooner these lessons were over, the sooner they could both get back to their lives without the other.

"I'm fine with that."

Emerald did wonder. Where Amber learned all this. But she didn't ask. She didn't really want to know.

* * *

It wasn't a surprise to Mercury that Tai and Felix had worried over nothing. He had picked around five to head home as it was rush hour and no one gave him a second glance.

It was irritating, but Mercury could see why they worried. He had been alone at Glade Town and that had once had the reputation of having no crime for years. Of course that is where he would find trouble. The Vytal Festival had been a disaster that night.

He had gone to Beacon with Talaria, but learning that Emerald could now talk to her properly, he told her to stay there for a while. The surprise there was that she could speak Parseltongue, not that Talaria could understand it. But now Mercury thought back, he couldn't think of any time Harry had spoken to Talaria.

No straying. That had been difficult, but Jaune had sympathised and his team had taken him around town briefly to point out what had changed. Not much honestly, but some things.

Exploring the town wasn't very high on Mercury's to-do list. There were quite a few things he wanted to do before leaving the safety of Patch.

Though he was very sure neither Tai nor Qrow would approve of the idea in his mind.

 _But later. For now, just enjoy._

Oddly enough, he found Tai not far away from the port. A little annoyed at the overprotectiveness at first, but then Mercury noted that he wasn't paying attention to those coming and going. He was searching the ground.

"Tai?" Mercury asked, approaching. He was in no rush to return home.

Tai glanced at him for a moment, smiling. His attention then returned to the ground. "Hey Mercury."

Mercury knelt down next to him, studying the ground himself. He was looking at tracks. "Some kind of dog?"

"A fox. The one that stays in this territory was seen halfway across the island. She doesn't wander that far."

"I thought foxes lived around the stalls. So this one was chased out by a Grimm?"

"Most likely." Tai stood up. Mercury followed. "They're around the stalls for easy food. Stops them going after the farmers."

"And if they leave their territory, there's a Grimm in the area." Mercury had seen foxes around, but hadn't thought anything of it. "Any idea what this one is?"

"No tracks yet." The fox tracks headed north, but Tai headed west. If he recognised the fox from the others, he must know where its territory was. "But foxes can deal with Creeps. Nothing stronger, but Creeps are the main ones that come from the mainland."

Mercury did recall a lot of the Grimm he spent killing when they first came to Patch were Creeps. There was the occasional Beowulf, but it was mostly Creeps. Nothing bigger than the Beowulf though.

He had no idea it was connected to foxes though.

"Do foxes hunt if they get scraps?" Not a bad life if they didn't, but he thought that was the job of a predator. He was also a little annoyed his and Emerald's exploration of Patch completely missed this.

"Sometimes, but not too often. The ones in Vale hunt more." Tai studied the ground again. "Normally, this one has cubs this time of year. She's not taking enough for them."

Mercury's tracking was very rusty. He could see fox tracks, but they were quite old. Over a week at least. Footprints from children or midgets were more recent, maybe three or so days, but nothing on Grimm.

"I haven't seen anything around here save for Creeps and Beowolves. And that Ursa when Ruby and Yang were sparring."

"Ursa huh?" Apparently the girls hadn't mentioned that.

"Yang dealt with it," Mercury shrugged. "Anything higher?"

"A Griffon once. I don't think that's what we're dealing with here."

They were moving through a clearing. If Mercury remembered right, they weren't far from Daisy's house. He wanted to avoid her and Violet if she was still here. They were no longer following the tracks but to Mercury just wandering in a random direction.

"So this is the way Patch Huntsmen find their prey?" he questioned, very interested.

Tai chuckled. "Quite often. Her most used den isn't far now."

They had returned to the woods. Tai then took him off the trail and into the undergrowth. Oddly enough, this area had a lot of thorns around. Not many areas in Patch was this bad for them.

It was something on the wind that caught Mercury's attention. "You smell that?"

Tai took a breath. "No. What is it?"

"Rotting flesh." It had to be nearby. His sense of smell wasn't _that_ good. Within a few yards most likely. The wind was coming from the north, so he took a few steps that way and knelt down. It had to be somewhere around… "Here."

A fox cub. It was tiny; couldn't be that old. It hadn't been dead very long either.

Tai had a look. "Poor thing. It's almost certainly hers."

Mercury frowned. "What Grimm could do this? It's more of a canine jaw, but too small for a Beowulf. Unless it wasn't a Grimm at all and was a dog." He was leaning towards a dog. It was too big to be another fox.

"Could be poachers," Tai noted with a scowl. "There was a group of them about a decade ago that came by here."

"You can't exactly skin something when your dogs have ripped it apart though." Finding wild animals wasn't easy. On top of that, most people didn't care if the fur in their clothes was real or fake. Not even Coco, as long as it went with the rest of her outfit.

Tai hummed in agreement. "Still, it is odd that poachers are popping up now."

"A dog could have just slipped its leash," Mercury pointed out. Poachers were a good bet, but if the Huntsmen around here knew the animals so well they could tell them apart and knew where their territories were, it was a very risky place. Red foxes were much easier to make disappear in Vale or even in Vacuo.

"Not many own dogs and none of the families I know own ones this big. Either way, I'm sure this was an outsider." Tai stood up. "It'll be dark soon. You may have no trouble, but I want you to head home. I'm going to stop at a student's house first, but I'll be there soon."

"Right." Mercury's eyes remained on the fox cub. Whatever had killed it hadn't even tried to eat it.

"Your stuff's on the dining room table and I'm sure Qrow has something for you there as well."

"Thanks."

As much as he wasn't looked forward to it, Mercury needed to know how to stitch. If Cinder could stitch Dust into clothing and people had been doing so for years, then he could learn to. Dust still worked with Runes, so that was a very good reason to learn.

But what was Qrow up to?

 _Well. That's interesting._

After all, it wasn't every day you came home to find Raven Branwen in your living room.

"By your reaction Felix, I'm going to say she wasn't invited in." Tai obviously didn't know she was here. Qrow looked furious. Raven seemed fairly relaxed and quite curious about him.

"She has worse manners than you," Qrow growled. It was obviously a conscious effort to calm down. "How was today?"

Mercury wasn't sure if he was asking about Ozpin's chat or his friends but both had the same answer. "Pretty good and you're hardly one to talk about manners." Time to have a bit of fun. And answer a question he was genuinely wondering. "Though I am wondering why one of Salem's most helpful allies is in our house."

 _That_ had a reaction.

Qrow frowned, clearly wondering where he got that idea.

Raven had a much better response. She was on her feet, her hand on her sword. She was almost growling.

"I _don't_ work for Salem."

"You don't?" Mercury queried. He wouldn't have been surprised. "I thought all bandit tribes did or were on good terms. If Salem's goal is to wipe out humanity, then people who kill quite a few Huntsmen on a weekly basis would be very beneficial. Any kids that manage to survive would be powerful and very hateful to the world, thus leading her to recruit them as lieutenants. You're telling me you don't get any benefits from her for doing such a good job for her?"

Now Qrow was beginning to see. Obviously that hadn't occurred to him. Something flickered across his expression for a moment. Mercury was quite sure it was regret. He had been one of them once.

Raven didn't say a word for a full five seconds. So Mercury continued.

"I thought Ozpin was just being a sentimental, naïve idiot when he claimed you were neutral but you don't see it either do you? You've been the most helpful person Salem's had for years and _you didn't know?_ " Mercury laughed. It was just too funny. "Right delusional hypocrite and blinded birdy, I'll be in my room. Try not to bring the house down."

Of course, he made a detour to pick up the shopping bags on the table. There was an unmarked package there too, but he left that. It might not be what Tai was talking about or Qrow might not be in a good mood for it. Besides, Raven looked like she wanted to rip his throat out. Cute, but he wasn't in the mood for a fight. Not to mention Tai would kill him if he destroyed the house.

They were still silent when he closed the bedroom door behind him, though not fast enough to stop Zwei following him in. With a shrug, Mercury let him be.

So naturally the dog jumped up on his bed.

Mercury switched the CD player on, dumped the annoying mutt on Emerald's bed and lay down. He chose to ignore the dog curling up at his side.

 _So. Ozpin is a reincarnated personality because of the brother Gods and Salem does not reincarnate but is the result of longevity. They have been playing a war game for years. Sure, why not? Not the most ridiculous thing I've heard. Not important right now though._

 _Relics._

 _Well, that certainly explains a lot. Why Cinder went after Fall with us even though she had a good guess on Spring…Why they're more interested in Spring now even though they have known who Fall was for quite a while…Ozpin's worry for Emerald at Haven next year._

An interesting problem. Yang enjoyed a fight and so did Ruby. If RMEY didn't compete in this Vytal Festival after they got to the finals of the last one, whatever doubts they had about Emerald being the Maiden went up faster than ash in the wind. Turning up at Haven put Emerald close enough to test the theory, especially with Lionheart in their camp.

Ozpin hadn't been happy when Mercury asked if he could have sold out Amber. After all, Cinder had spent that week stopping Mercury and Emerald from killing each other. She hadn't spent it looking for the Fall Maiden. They only did that when they got to a certain city hours before the attack.

The Spring Maiden Krystal Umi too probably and her family. Hadn't Emerald said the one before Cinder had been her cousin?

But Mercury had a use for Lionheart. He was starting to get an idea in his head, but he had a few things to do before then and he had to be careful. He couldn't fall into the trap of overestimating his abilities or underestimating theirs.

One thing though: he wasn't bringing Ruby or Yang with him. Preferably not Emerald either. Talaria would be nice though. She probably still wasn't happy with his behaviour during the tournament.

He also had no intention of bringing up Raven with Yang. He knew the reason she had abandoned her: she had no use for a baby and, unless that baby grew up into someone powerful, Raven would have no use for her at all. If Yang was powerful enough, Raven would then try to get her to join her tribe, probably starting with insulting the people who actually stuck around to raise her. Maybe Raven did believe she cared about her. After all, Raven could turn into a raven and Mercury had certainly seen one around acting unnaturally.

 _Though I'd love to know how she got to Patch and back to her tribe so fast._

Now he thought about it, it probably wasn't a good idea to bring up Raven with Emerald either.

Still, even if Raven didn't think she worked for Salem, Salem benefitted from her activities far too much. She was no neutral, regardless of her delusions. A fantastic shapeshifting ability to scout ahead for targets and she had taken in the Spring Maiden that got killed through her own stupidity. For all her complaints about Ozpin, Raven certainly wasn't averse to using his gifts.

Yang really wasn't going to be happy when she found out what a disappointment her mother was.

The song switched to 'World So Cold'.

Mercury sighed.

This had been the song Zephyr picked.

His siblings were buried off a hiking trail not far from Shion on Anima. The only reason Mercury hadn't buried him yet was because he was unsure how funerals actually worked. When he asked Zephyr who he wanted at his, he had just shaken his head with a sigh.

 **"No point. No one would come to mine that I would want."**

Mercury understood. From both sides. But he thought Zephyr was wrong. Yes, they were angry at him, but all ten of the others would come to say goodbye to the Zephyr they knew. The Zephyr that was becoming the mask too well to tell the difference between what he wanted anymore. They were sentimental like that and he didn't think they were completely wrong.

Mercury would miss both: the Zephyr from Beacon and the one he got to know afterwards.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." If it was Tai or Felix, they always waited for permission before entering this room. Ruby knocked and opened immediately without anything from her Emery and Yang didn't even knock.

He didn't need to open his eyes to know it was Qrow.

"Hey Silvertongue."

There was a slight sound as he put something down on Emerald's bed before sitting down on it himself. A few moments later, Mercury felt a hand touch his hair slightly. He tilted his head so Qrow could reach easier.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Obviously about what he had learned today.

Mercury considered it. "Not particularly." None of it was too much of a surprise. There were questions he had that Ozpin couldn't answer and he hadn't bothered to ask. He needed to find that answer himself. "Where's Zephyr?"

Qrow sighed. "A casket in Vale morgue. No one's gone near him."

"Good." There was a brief quiet. But something bothered him. "Is Raven going to come back?"

"Remarkably unlikely while you're here."

Mercury managed to shrug his shoulders. "I said what I thought." Sentimentality was such a curse at times. Glad he didn't suffer from it yet. "What did she want?"

"Silver Dust weapons. I took a few from your first prison a while ago."

First prison huh? "I know." It hadn't been difficult to guess where the Huntsmen, trusted allies of Qrow and Ozpin, suddenly got a lot of borderline underground weapons from. He didn't care. "Did you give any to her?"

"No." There was obviously more to that, but Qrow changed the topic slightly. "I did take a few and send them off to a contact. He re-forged them into something you won't have as bad memories with."

"Thanks." He let out a long breath. "It's…been a long day."

Qrow chuckled. "Which part?"

"Seeing my friends again." How unreal that felt.

"And it felt different. Like you didn't connect with them anymore."

"Yeah. That's how it started too, right at the beginning of that school year, but it feels worse now. But…It's Ruby and Yang I'm worried about. I've never felt so disconnected with them. Emerald too. I really don't like it."

Qrow sighed. "I know the feeling…I'm sorry. It's not something that goes away easily. Sometimes it never goes away at all."

Mercury opened his eyes and caught Qrow's. He was drifting a little. "You and Raven? And Tai?" He didn't bring up Summer.

"Pretty much. It's been better with Tai recently but Raven…It's the same with many of my contacts actually. I was pretty close with them once upon a time. Now I only call on them when I need a favour. It happens sometimes."

"So I can't fix it?"

…

Qrow didn't say anything.

Mercury understood his message, but…

He would do anything for his family.

So why did everything feel so distant?


	18. Balancing School and Life

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Taiyang did _not_ appreciate getting woken up at 2am. He especially didn't appreciate the fact it was dog barks that woke him.

But it was more than one dog, so he got up to have a look.

He wasn't too surprised to see Mercury already outside. He was surrounded by dogs and not friendly ones either. These ones were actually trying to bite him properly. They were trying to do him real harm.

Somehow, Tai couldn't say he was _too_ surprised at that either.

But when happy-go-lucky _Zwei_ was growling, snarling and trying to rip apart dogs that were at least three times his size…

 _What is going on here?_

The problem Mercury was having was that he was obviously reluctant to kill them. He had pinned one under his knee and was nearly strangling another enough that it was letting out very high pitched whines. There were also five of them: three foxhounds, one black retriever and one bloodhound.

 _Hunting dogs._

Hunting was illegal on Patch. It was fine anywhere else in the kingdom of Vale save a few areas and Patch was one of them. Wildlife was such a good indicator of possible Grimm activity.

Now Tai was _really_ angry.

There was rope in the shed. With all the dogs focused on trying to attack Mercury, it was very easy to lure them into a trap and tie them to different trees. It didn't stop their growling or snapping, but it kept them away at least.

It was over in seconds, just before Qrow came out.

Mercury let out a breath. "Thanks."

Tai patted his shoulder. He didn't have any injuries and his aura read fine. "Don't worry about it. But why were they attacking you?"

"No idea. I was meditating and when I opened my eyes, they were there. I didn't provoke them." His gaze went to the foxhound with a broken leg that was still trying to bite him. "But what do we do with them?"

That was a good question. These dogs all had collars; none were wild. Their owners were nowhere in sight though.

"I think setting them loose is a bad idea," Qrow commented as he sat next to Mercury. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"About that…"

Mercury was hesitating. Something was up here.

"Nightmare?" Tai guessed.

"Haven't had one since. Not normal right?" He shook his head. "I was meditating in my bedroom and then…" He glanced at the door. "Was that locked?" His head spun to the woods. "Later."

Tai couldn't see as well as Mercury, but he could make out human shapes. Whatever was bothering Mercury (possible sleepwalking but the door had been locked) could wait a few moments while he dealt with these guys. He was now in a _very_ bad mood. There were four of them. Tai and Qrow stood up. Mercury remained sitting, shifting so he could cross his legs, looking all the more like a kid waiting to see another get scolded.

Tai raised an eyebrow at him.

Mercury's features shifted into annoyance and irritation. He was certainly feeling it.

Tai turned back to the men approaching at a run. The dogs' snaps and barks had changed to growls and snarls. They were much quieter. They definitely belonged to these guys.

"Can I help you?" Tai demanded, folding his arms angrily. He kept the rage close to the surface, but was careful not to let it out. Yet.

He could almost feel Qrow's anger as he stood tall next to him.

One stepped forward. He had a short range handgun (no attachments) and a hunting knife. Long trousers and ankle boots. All of them did. "These are our dogs. Why are they tied up?"

"They attacked my son," Qrow stated.

"We're looking for a fox. Black." That was a different one; his second in command. He looked at the dogs and followed their gaze to Mercury. "They can smell the fox on him. Where did it go?"

"Black?" Mercury asked. "There are no black foxes around here."

"Even if there were," Tai snarled, "I _really_ don't like poaching. Part of why I like it here: it's quiet and no poaching."

"Get up in the middle of the night because some poaching dogs are trying to rip my son's head off," Qrow added with that forced calm tone. "Quite. _Literally_."

He was angry, but there was something else. He saw that spark. There was something else.

"They're harmless to people." He waved a hand. He glared at Mercury. "What did you do with the fox?"

"I haven't seen a fox in weeks." He glanced at the dogs. "Save the pup your dogs ripped to shreds."

"They followed its scent to that territory. Went a little too deep but still. You know where it is. Hiding it in the house are you?"

"What?" Tai growled. "Going to search it? That's not happening. Get off my property and take your dogs with you."

The leader and second were both staring at Mercury. "Fine. We'll find him when you let him out." He headed for the retriever.

 _Meditating; bedroom; woke up surrounded by hunting dogs; he's dressed for bed; no footprints away from the door; no pocket to hold the key-Oh._

Oh.

Well. Tai had only _thought_ he was mad before.

The retriever broke free from his lax hold. It darted straight for Mercury.

The dog's head rolled on the ground. Qrow's sword dripped blood. Zwei patted the head to the feet of the leader. He was growling just like the other dogs were.

The men were still.

Qrow pointed with his sword to the canines. "Four dogs left." The bloody sword pointed at them. "Four of you." He spun the blade. "I could deal with them for you."

Tai cracked his knuckles. "Never. Come to Patch again. _Never_ bother him again."

The youngest man, no younger than Tai, drew his knife. Obviously eager for a fight. "You bastard."

"Your killing machine," Tai countered. "My house."

"My son," Qrow added angrily.

The hunting dogs had obviously never been called off a hunt before. They would charge forward. Qrow would kill them. Hunting dogs took time to train and obey a new master. If they could kill the dogs, they could kill the poachers.

Zwei barked and bared his teeth. He took a step before clawing at the ground.

Tai had never seen Zwei act like that.

"He shouldn't have been out in the middle of the night to hide foxes-"

Qrow shot the foxhound with a broken leg. "Attacks people, including kids. You were nowhere near. No one's going to complain. Want to lose another one?"

Tai didn't approve of that. He would discuss it later. Right now, he wasn't complaining. Too much. At least it was Mercury and not Ruby that just saw that.

These dogs though…

They would be put down anyway.

"Want to leave the mutts…" Tai shrugged. "Well, we'll get rid of them if you want. What _I_ want, right now, is for you get off Patch."

For a moment, they only shifted a little.

Then they walked to their dogs, making very sure their weapons were visible and out of their reach. They untied the dogs and threw all their weight on the newly attached leads. Even then, it took one of them taking a plant out of a bag to get them on a different track. Not a word exchanged. They didn't look at Tai or Qrow.

They ignored the corpses.

Once they were out of Mercury's sight, he let out a breath. "Would I have been in trouble if I killed them?"

"No," Qrow replied. "Go back inside. I want to check something."

"Don't forget to close the doors and windows," Mercury agreed. He stood up, stretched and walked through the front door with Zwei trotting after him happily.

Tai raised an eyebrow at Qrow. "Is that possible?"

Qrow shrugged, clearly understanding his question. "No idea. I would have done anything Tai. Maybe it happened. Would explain why he doesn't remember. What are we doing with the dogs?"

"Drop them in the sea. I'll do that after we're sure."

Mercury was in the front room, sitting on the floor. Zwei was next to him, as cheerful as ever. Tai and Qrow made a quick circle of the house, making sure all the doors and windows were closed. It might not work given his Semblance, but it was something. There was enough space in the living room and kitchen; he shouldn't feel crowded.

Qrow sat opposite him. Tai leaned against the couch.

"Ready?"

"Ready." He closed his eyes.

Not a second later…

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Well. What do you know?"

Qrow chuckled. "Guess it's another trip to Beacon for him."

 _SMASH_

"He never did like that vase."

"He's still cleaning it up." At least it wasn't one that had flowers in and to be fair, Mercury's complaint had always been the rickety table it had been on.

…

"How long do you think?"

"You took five hours. Him…"

CRASH

"Who knows?"

Qrow sighed. "This is going to be a long few hours. It's like having a new baby in the house."

Honestly, Tai thought he would take the baby right now. They were somewhat predictable and didn't have a Semblance that allowed them to walk through walls. Which he didn't seem to be using. Yet.

"At least he's not going to get out of the front door."

Hopefully.

At least Zwei seemed to be able to control him somewhat. The dog was having a great time.

* * *

Jaune landed on his back.

It was one thing to lose in a fist fight to Yang. To lose one to _Ruby…_

"Am I getting worse or are you getting better?"

Ruby giggled. "Private lessons every weekend. I have a good teacher." Jaune gave her a _look_. "Best two out of three?"

"You're on."

Ruby didn't hit hard. In fact, Jaune could barely feel it. The problem was that she was too fast to hit. She was learning to use the speed aspect of her Semblance in even shorter bursts to dodge blows. If she hit you enough times, she won. She kept chipping away until the wall collapsed.

Jaune was nowhere near as fast. He could decapitate an Ursa with ease, but he could not hit her. He needed to change his angle. Ruby outmatched him in speed, but he lasted longer with endurance. She also did the most damage when he grabbed her.

 _Scratch normal tactics. Think dirty. Weekends, so either her father or Mercury is teaching her. If it's Mercury, who deals with reversals as much as attacks, then…_

"Oomph."

"Ha! I win."

Ruby scowled. "We're on best two out of three, remember?"

"Oh, I remember." He readied himself again. He knew how she fought now. It wasn't like anyone who fought at Beacon and was _very_ different to how Yang fought and how Mercury liked to fight.

Ruby's style was primarily self-defence. There are some points that attack but they were few and far between and she often made a mistake like a foot a few centimetres in the wrong place. That was not what she had been practicing. She couldn't have had many lessons, but those ones were only on protection if she lost Crescent Rose. They would change later, but this obviously wasn't natural. She was very focused.

Ruby hit the ground again.

"Best two out of three goes to me," Jaune grinned. He offered a hand up. She took it and he tugged her up. "Three out of five?"

"You're on."

Ruby didn't last much longer this time either. It didn't help that she was using her Semblance in a way she hadn't really practiced much, so she was getting tired out much quicker. For someone who was designed to dodge blows rather than take them…

Well. It was actually easy for Jaune.

Ruby's aura was now in the red and he still had 80.

Nora grinned and elbowed Pyrrha. "Looks like your training really paid off."

Pyrrha went a little red. Jaune coughed and looked away. She had every right to be proud of him. Melody too as she had helped with hand to hand as well. He was years off Yang, but doing well.

"Well Ruby, I don't think you're ready for a wrestling match."

Ruby grumbled.

"You know that third year…" Melody looked at Emerald. "What was her name?"

"Saturn."

"Saturn started this fight club thing. Hand to hand combat only. No weapons allowed. I signed up, went to last week and loved it." She shrugged with a smile. "I lost every round, but I learned a lot. The best there is a first year. She's going to go far in the tournament if they ever disarm her."

Ruby perked up. "What weapon does she use? Normally."

"A sword of some kind. It's kind of hooked at the end."

"Probably got disarmed a lot when she was starting out," Emerald commented.

"Probably," Jaune agreed. "Now get down here Emerald. It's your turn."

With a roll of the eyes and a slight smile, Emerald came down to the arena. High on his success against Ruby, Jaune readied himself for a tougher challenge. She was two years older and was more life experienced.

He was expecting a rough fight.

What he wasn't expecting was how badly he lost.

"What just happened?"

Emerald chuckled. "Best two out of three?"

"I'll pass right now." Jaune pushed himself to his feet, waving Emerald's hand away. "Maybe I'll sign up. Who's next?"

"Me!" Nora sang. Jaune chucked at Emerald's brief closed eyes. She was in for a much rougher fight.

This may be hand to hand combat training, but it was also winner stays on. It had taken Ren, Weiss and finally Jaune to take Pyrrha out. The only one that hadn't had a go yet other than Nora was Blake, who was back in Menagerie.

A few people had disappeared with her.

Jaune sighed as he sat down. Blake had the weight of the world on her shoulders and there wasn't anything he could do to help.

"Jaune?"

"Hmm?" It took him a moment to realise Pyrrha has said something. "Sorry. I was miles away."

"I noticed. Blake or Mercury?"

"Blake. I saw Mercury yesterday. He was working at the new escape rooms, although my sister tells me he's at the mechanics too."

"I wouldn't trust him with my music player," Ren said completely stoic.

Jaune snorted. "No. Blake. Have you noticed a few students missing?"

"Three," Pyrrha nodded. "I did see them last week, so they still want to be Huntsmen. Coral asked me about History the other day."

"Beacon can be demanding, but it's also designed to be flexible," Weiss noted, fiddling with Dust cartridges. "It's one of the reasons I wanted to attend here rather than Atlas. It makes it a lot easier for personal studies."

Weiss had been studying finances and business. With Whitley's death, Weiss became the only one that could inherit the family business. After so long trying to get away with it, she was now trying to find a way to balance it.

With more time on his hands than some of his friends, Jaune contributed more to the background of their study sessions with Pyrrha's help. Honestly, he found it much easier to focus on non-combat topics then.

But he wasn't happy their twelve had dropped down to ten, sometimes nine.

He also wasn't happy with the topic he had discussed with Mercury. He could see why he talked about it with him rather than his family. Or BRN for that matter.

Either way, the last day of the month was going to be horrible.

Emerald had won.

Only now did it occur to Jaune had very rarely seen Emerald fight. She wasn't even on half aura. That brought it back to Pyrrha.

"I do like a challenge," Pyrrha smiled as she headed down.

Nora plopped down in her spot. "Nothing like a good fight to bring out an appetite."

"We'll hit the town after we've showered." Jaune stretched his arms out. Then he sighed.

"Semblance trouble?" Ren asked sympathetically.

"I just…I can't see how it's taken me so long."

"Maybe you haven't been put in the right situation to use it. Sometimes it is not used for combat. There's no shame in finding it on a mission nothing to do with anything."

"Thanks." It didn't help; they had been telling him that since he had admitted it to them. At least they had never made fun of him for it.

"We start taking more missions next year." Weiss glanced at him. "We can get a lot of variety then, if you think it will help."

"Maybe."

Had Pyrrha just lost to Emerald?

They shook hands and Pyrrha headed back to the seats. A quick glance exchange and Ren went down.

"Emerald was holding back," Pyrrha noted as she sat down. She looked at his face and smiled at him. "We can only get better Jaune."

"Yeah." He cleared his throat. "Can we talk? Outside?"

"Sure."

They got curious looks, even an evil grin from Nora until it faded into a frown. Maybe he hadn't schooled his face well enough. But they didn't follow and that was enough for him.

A quick glance around and he was satisfied.

"What's wrong Jaune?" Pyrrha asked gently.

Jaune let out a sigh. "I spoke to Mercury yesterday. More serious actually. Zephyr…He's being buried weekend after next." He glanced back at the classroom. "I don't know how to tell the others. He hasn't even told his girls. Left me to do it."

Pyrrha closed her eyes and nodded slightly. "Right. I can see why. They're overjoyed to see him every weekend." Her eyes met his. "I'm going to go, if only…"

"Yeah." He resisted the urge to hit the wall. "I just…How do I tell them? It was only when they came back that we knew he was dead. We never got a chance to know him. Properly. I just…" His head hit the wall. "One at a time or together?"

"I think sooner would be better. Especially if it's the weekend after the next. Sometime this week. Perhaps after a trip to see Mercury at the escape rooms. I heard Melody wanted to visit there."

"Throwing him under the bus there. Rather him than me."

"Mercury knew him best. He's organising the funeral. I think we should all be together. The eleven of us."

Jaune rubbed his eyes. His hand dropped. "Right. So…Where do we go from here?"

Pyrrha took his hand. "Jaune…We'll move on. Okay? Zephyr…He is…was…a good friend. That's what I'll remember. What about you?"

"I didn't know another Zephyr. It just…" He swallowed. "Right. Not a weekend. Blake said she'll be back next week at the latest. What if we book the last slot on Mercury's shift on Wednesday, he can come out to dinner with us after and then…"

"Sounds okay. Melody also told me she was told by Daisy to keep an eye on Violet."

"Violet?" Jaune thought. "Her cousin, right?"

"Yeah."

"Right."

He only just noticed now, but they seemed to have become the ones who look after all the students in the school. Few teenagers liked talking to a teacher. Jaune had become the secret keeper for Flash (a third year) and Wake (first year).

How did that happen?

Jaune let a small smile hit his lips. "Should probably get back in there before one of them brings the place down."

Pyrrha smiled back. "You would think they would get more mature with age."

Why was there a mini explosion when they weren't using weapons?

"You would think," Jaune agreed idly. He swallowed. "Wednesday. Let's get back to it."

* * *

It wasn't a surprise. Many people in Menagerie had relatives in the White Fang.

At least their passiveness extended to the people running away that had committed violent crimes. They didn't care as long as they kept to themselves. It was perfect for a safe house, provided that those twins didn't visit.

The twins that seemed to have dropped off the face of Menagerie, but then much of the continent wasn't inhabited and was desert. Maybe they lived out there.

Blake stepped onto the balcony. Her ears flickered at the sudden rush of wind.

It was warm out tonight.

There was a thump on the railing behind her. She glanced back, but didn't see anything. That told her who it was. She turned away from her and took a deep breath.

"I was beginning to think you weren't in Menagerie anymore Ilia."

Another thump. She was on the balcony now.

"You should have stayed away Blake. Vale was good for you. There's nothing for you here."

"My parents. My people. That's more than enough."

"Your people? You ran Blake."

Blake thought before she replied. Ilia didn't sound angry or accusatory. It was as if she was stating a fact. That threw Blake a bit but she didn't show it to her old friend.

"I ran from the White Fang. I didn't run from my people. There is a difference Ilia."

"We stand up for them. These humans…They don't see _us._ They see monsters. Are we supposed to just put up with it?"

"If the monsters are all they see, then yes." Blake turned around. She couldn't see Ilia's eyes; she had never seen that mask before. For moment, that mask changed into something else. A skeleton rather than a Grimm. "You're right. Humans see us as monsters. Why?"

"Because that's what they are. It's too hard to look at us and _see_ us. It's far easier for them to hate us if they don't look at us as people. As equals."

"You didn't answer my question." Blake leaned against the bannister and kept her eyes on the floor. It was easier than looking at Ilia. "Humans see the Faunus as monsters because that's how the ones in the White Fang behave. We both know that. The others hide their traits. They hide away from humans. They only see a small group of us, not all of us. It's easy to make rules when there are few to break them. Easy to call them 'different'."

"They started it. How many Blake? How many Faunus kids were just playing when humans abused them? Hit them? I was their friend for months and they turned on me. Just for that. They don't listen to words. They listen to violence. Or they don't listen at all."

"Bullies always do." Blake forced her eyes up. "Not all of them are bullies. Some stand up for us."

Her colours turn red. Anger. But she still spoke completely calmly. "And the others? They stand by and let it happen. They are no better."

"Neither are the Faunus."

Purple. Confusion. She didn't say anything so Blake continued.

"The Faunus here. They came here to get away from everything. I can't blame them for that. But they are guilty of the same thing the humans are: standing back and allowing it to happen. Humans and Faunus are the same in that regard. We the same in a lot of things."

Back to normal. "We are not treated the same."

"I was. At the Vytal Festival I was. One of my best friends is the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. She cheered for me just as much as any Faunus there."

She wasn't just red now. She was absolutely furious. "Those mines killed my parents."

"And who else? Were there any humans in that accident? People assume that Faunus are all that work for Schnee, but my friend got the _unaltered_ reports. Their certainly treated worse, but that's from the other workers and everyone upstairs turns a blind eye. Media is changed so we are blamed and the White Fang make that _very_ easy to do."

Mercury had told her some people were interested in the Schnee mines and the White Fang often worked as their attack dogs. He didn't say who 'they' was and Blake didn't ask. Didn't care. Adam was very strong willed; he may have been forced into it at the beginning, but he was a very eager participant now.

Blake used to think Adam was the only problem.

Then she met the magicals on Earth and she began to understand a much deeper issue. A group of Death Eaters vs hundreds of magicals. It shouldn't have even been an issue. But people hid. They didn't fight. A handful of Death Eaters nearly wiped out hundreds of magicals.

All of a sudden, it wasn't clear cut.

In many ways, it was similar to here.

Blake didn't want a war between Faunus and humans.

"You're one of them now. You're making excuses for them."

Blake shook her head. That should sting, but it was the first emotion she had actually _heard._ "I know someone whose father cut his Faunus ears off with a pair of scissors, solely so he wouldn't be discriminated against. Was he right or wrong to?"

That was taken _very_ out of context Blake knew, but that always intrigued her. He had shown her what very little was left and had told her he had seen a few Faunus in a similar condition. Emerald was a street kid and she had said the same. They both knew what a Faunus faced. But under pressure, they both responded the exact same way.

Back to purple. "Is it wrong for a parent to want the best for their kid?"

"This parent was human and deliberately had a Faunus kid. Then amputated his Faunus traits. Does that make the kid human?"

"And they will not treat him any different than from a human. Because he isn't one of us anymore."

"He doesn't like bullies, regardless of whether they are human or Faunus. Most of the people at Beacon are the same. Some bully the bullies that bully Faunus. It's amazing what people will do to each other if they think they had a good reason." Blake looked Ilia in the face then. "Humans and Faunus both."

Normal colour now. "Peace didn't work Blake. Your father tried that. We tried that. Violence is working-"

"But we're still not equals," Blake interrupted calmly. "They still fear us, but they see us as monsters rather than lower beings. It's not any better. The abuse continues but now…Now, they have a _reason._ And we gave it to them."

"So now it's our fault?"

"No. Some humans are willing to stand up for us. But if the only Faunus willing to stand up for themselves are in the White Fang, what does that make us? We can change it Ilia, but violence isn't the answer."

"You think I don't know that Blake? But if nothing else works, that's all we're left with. What humans have made us into."

Ilia hopped on the bannister behind her, using that momentum to leap onto the roof and into the darkness.

Blake sighed.

The White Fang was part of the problem.

But there was far more to it.

And Ilia had very good points.

"Blake?"

Blake blinked and looked at her mother. "Sorry. Just needed some air."

"Like your father. Dinner's ready if you want it."

"Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

"…Fine. It's just not occurred to me I'm not what I used to be."

"Are you happy with who you are now or who you were then?"

Blake couldn't answer.

"I'm proud of both of you."

* * *

"Where do we find these idiots?" Mercury chuckled.

"Perk of the job," Scarlett smiled as she watched over another group. "So what you got? These guys don't seem to understand that they haven't got a four digit combination yet and they are trying variations of the three combo they have."

"They haven't figured out it's a mirror image yet and they're four supermodel obsessed teenage girls."

"Ouch."

Scarlett offered him a chocolate. He shook his head and leaned back in his chair. He typed out 'Hint?' for their screens and they responded as if they were scandalised. Put these escape rooms on the air and it would make a great TV show.

So far the best group he had had were a bunch of eleven year olds. They would earn a lot of money when they grew up. They obviously hadn't got it from their parents, though to be fair they had been far from the worst.

Mercury switched over to the other room he was supervising. They had gotten out of the first room and were making good progress on the second. The problem was that they had left their needed clue in the first room.

"No problems here. How about you?"

Scarlett leaned forward towards her screen. "Not sure yet."

Mercury glanced around. "The stag party or the family?"

"The stag party."

"They're doing the heist one, right?"

"Yeah and one's scanning the ceiling tiles a little too much."

A chuckle escaped him. "Yeah, like my first shift for that one. To be fair, it was the kids that were too young to know better and the parents weren't paying much attention. Pulled them down when I pointed it out."

"One of the reasonable parents then."

Mercury was still laughing a little as he turned back to his screens.

He had decided not to return to Beacon, but then Qrow had told him what he would need to do if he wanted to graduate early. He liked that and started to work towards it. He had expected it to be far more difficult to get a job, never mind two part-times so fast, but apparently they were desperate for help. Escape rooms while school was in session. Mechanics and his bonus was knowing how a motorbike ran as well as a car. He had Yang to thank for that one. Weekends not needed as they had staff for then.

Oobleck and Peach had compiled questions and essays for him to work through which he sent off with the girls when he was done. Goodwitch and Port were already happy enough with him, so no work there. He still had time for his own little projects.

Though he would have to bite the bullet when he got back and ask Tai to show him how to knit. His five attempts on his own were just wasting material.

Now he was looking for somewhere to test his new weapon. A few more tweaks and that would be finished. Maybe he could check some of the mission boards next week. Although, it would be easier to talk to Ozpin and get RMEY some field experience.

"Are you Smarter than a Ten Year Old or Pointless?"

Mercury snorted. "Have you seen how smart those kids are? Be a much better show if they picked average kids rather than geniuses. Still, that's what I'd go with. Too much luck with Pointless. You?"

"Definitely Pointless. For that exact reason." Scarlett growled. "And now they're pushing and ignoring me. Excuse me." She pushed herself off the chair and walked out.

Mercury rolled his eyes and checked on her other group. They were doing fine so he headed back to his station. He stopped at the timetable. According to that, he had one more left. He was sure they had been the last.

Rolling his eyes, he skimmed through the book to find…'Beacon students: 10. Mercury'

"Of course they did," Mercury groaned as he collapsed back into his seat.

Even more annoyingly, he couldn't record it. At least he got to see them running around like headless chickens. A smirk grew. This was going to be entertaining.

Scarlett rubbed her head as she came back in. "Days like this the fun isn't worth the headache."

"Can't be many of those." He pointed to the book. "When did the Beacon students book?"

"Last night." She rolled her chair to drop the chocolates back in the fridge. "Drink?"

"No thanks."

She shrugged. "Yeah, someone called Jaune rang and booked two rooms. Asked for your last slot oddly enough. Friends of yours?"

Last slot. That meant they had plans for him after it. "Yeah, I attended Beacon last year. Can I leave you to lock up today?"

"Sure."

"Still no recording allowed?"

"Afraid not. It is always the most annoying when you know them."

"Tell me about it."

According to the clock, their slot started in twenty minutes. So they would be here in ten.

"They're not going to rip the place apart, are they?"

Mercury was about to deny it when he actually thought about it. "Not intentionally." Stuff did tend to get blown up around them a lot.

"They have their aura unlocked. Had to ask. That's what happened to the last escape rooms."

That must have been a while ago. "Which school? Beacon?"

"Nah. Shade. Vytal Festival five years ago."

"Sue them?"

"Of course not. Accidents happen. The school paid out before the lawyers got involved."

That sounded odd. "Who got hurt?"

"Only the one who blew it up. Apparently forgot to engage their aura."

"Must be a first year. Little actual field experience." They were now on the final door. "Looks like the jungle lot are done." Which meant that Mercury had to actually get up and greet them.

He would put up with the socialising. The hilarity of many of their mistakes more than made up for it.

These guys weren't too bad either.

"How'd we do?" The youngest asked. Belle if he remembered right.

"Pretty good." He led the way back to the main lobby. "In the top half. It takes most over an hour to get out of there. How was it?"

Jay (?), teenage brother, shook his head with a long breath. "Never felt like so much of an idiot when we figured out some of those."

That was the most common response Mercury got.

"We got out," Belle cheered, bouncing on her heels. He would like to guess she was about ten.

"Yes you did," Mercury agreed. "Not everyone does." In the hour and a half anyway.

"What do you with them?"

"Feeds them to his dog," Jay stated with a grin.

"Oh please. My dog has better taste than that." The parents were frowning at Jay but Belle was giggling.

"Your Beowulf?"

"Enough Jay," the mother snapped. "Sorry about them."

Mercury waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. Have any problems or anything you'd like to mention?"

"No. It was a very enjoyable experience. I'll be sure to book again."

"Have a nice day." Good. These guys weren't hanging around.

"Bye mister!" Belle waved as she disappeared in the street. Her family left not soon after.

"Having fun there Mercury?"

And of course they _just_ had to arrive. "Yeah. Tons." Emerald had used her Semblance to ask him that. "Seriously? Couldn't you guys have picked a day I wasn't working?"

Yang crossed her arms. "Of course not. Besides, what are you complaining about? You get to watch us being idiots."

"I have a whole scroll of you lot being idiots."

"You're not allowed to add this one," Nora sang.

"We'll take you out to dinner afterwards," Ren tagged on.

Mercury had guessed something like that the moment he saw that memo in the timetable. He just sighed and stepped back to allow them in. "Lobby's closest room up the stairs. I need to reset one of the rooms. You'll have to wait."

Nora gave a mock salute and skipped up the steps. Ren and Blake gave him a nod as they passed. All said hello, but he while he returned it his thoughts were elsewhere. Jaune and Pyrrha were the last to enter. Mercury raised an eyebrow at them. Jaune shook his head slightly.

 _Right. So we need to tell them about the funeral._

He had kind of been hoping to avoid that scene.

At least with the family, they had left the pieces out where he could find them easily. He had made a mental note while watching them complete it and so far had yet to be wrong. Never took him more than five minutes at the longest. One final sweep and he headed out, bumping into Scarlett on the way.

"Room clear?"

She smiled at him. "They only asked for two rooms. They didn't care which ones."

"Right. I'm going to leave as soon as they're done."

"I thought you might. If you're lucky, you might get the full pay for today."

"I'm not too fussed about the money." At the moment, he did not want an argument with his boss. He needed the hours more than the money and this was a fun job.

"I won't tell him that. You can have these two groups."

"Well thanks."

"Any of them your old teammates?"

"Yeah. Three of the girls."

"Good grief. You'll definitely get the full pay."

Mercury scoffed and headed back to the lobby, shaking his head a little. He vaguely remembered a few people asking how he managed on a team with three girls. He had always replied he had no trouble telling what was his. They had given him confused and disbelieving looks. He knew what they were really asking and he had no interest in entertaining them.

Right now, the ten were entertaining a very tame game of 'I Never'. Mercury wanted to stop that game fast before it escalated. At least they hadn't ever pushed him to play.

"Okay guys. Rooms are ready. Jungle and Pyramid. Who's going with who?"

Jaune, Blake, Ruby, Weiss and Nora had their thumbs up. Pyrrha, Ren, Yang, Emerald and Melody had their thumbs down.

Mercury put Ruby and co. in Jungle and the others in Pyramid. Then he sat back and watched.

"They're good." Scarlett's groups had left and she was hovering by him to watch.

"They're not idiots. That goes a long way."

"I looked you up while you were sorting them out. Remedy right? Your team made it to the finals. Almost won. Blake there did. I thought she looked familiar."

He was slightly surprised she hadn't recognised them immediately. He got the impression she loved TV. "Like I said: they're not idiots."

"I'll say. Normally takes people a while to understand that number sequence." The Pyramid had that effect on people. It made very fancy numbers look like pictures or words. Mercury never understood where the pyramid idea came from in the first place.

He was more worried that Nora and Yang would accidentally break something. They were normally far less careful than this. Not that he was going to mention that until something went wrong. If these rooms were open for Huntsmen, or anywhere near Beacon for that matter, accidents happened.

"Ever wish these things had sound?"

"They used to when they were in Mistral. From what I hear, it was scrapped and not because of the money problems."

"Romance?" Mercury guessed with a long breath.

"Wasn't suitable for kids. At least they never went farther than one top taken off."

"I don't want to hear any more."

"Neither did I."

There was a strategy here. Those with no patience and/or attention span, like Yang and Nora, studied the room very thoroughly and took their findings to the others for them to figure out. If there was more than one clue, they split into groups. Kept talking though; kept in contact. It was the most efficient method he had seen so far.

As a group, they were flawless.

A group he didn't feel much a part of anymore.

He wasn't being replaced. Everyone…Including himself…Were just moving forward.

"These might have the best time," Scarlett commented, reaching for the scoreboard.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Mercury murmured, not paying much attention to her. His senses sharpened again when she approached once more.

"Will they want photos?"

"Most definitely."

"Then I can take them if you want to get yourself sorted then?"

"…Thanks."

A well-oiled machine. Both groups in fact.

 ** _"Thanks Jaune. I mean it."_**

 ** _"They're my friends as well Merc. You'd do the same for any of us."_**

 ** _"Still. I mean it."_**

 ** _"If you need anything Mercury. Anything; comfort, routine, space…Just let us know."_**

 ** _Chuckling. "I'm fine. Now I know you'll be looked after."_**

"They're done."

Mercury blinked. In one swift movement, he stood and headed to his locker. There wasn't a dress code, but his boss did insist his boots remain in the locker during work hours. Non-combat boots were fine for now. The re-forged pair of knives were hidden in notice-me-not sheaths; no one knew they were there. Not even a metal detector would pick them up. A moot point anyway seeing as his prosthetics would be.

Mercury was thinking about the problems with getting his new weapon to work when he caught up to them. They had decided to hang around the entrance and, naturally, poke fun at each for their games.

"So where are we going?"

Other than to ruin their very good mood.

It had to happen sometime.


	19. Reality

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Yang had never been to a funeral. She had been too young to understand Summer's and she didn't even know if Cedric had a funeral. She had never lost anyone close to her before now.

The coffin was mahogany.

Yang managed to tear her gaze away.

It was just them. Blake. Ren. Nora. Jaune. Pyrrha. Melody. Weiss. Ruby. Emerald. Mercury. Yang. It was just them.

There were two graves marked with a plain marble slab each in this meadow in a forest. Lake and Dakota. Peaceful with no one to disturb them. No roads anywhere for miles. There were old flowers, now wilted, resting against both marble.

Zephyr had visited here fairly often.

It didn't look like anyone else had.

Lake and Dakota had been forgotten by everyone but their brother.

The grave for the casket was already dug. Mercury must have done that at some point. It had been done by tools. The hole needed for the gravestone was still needed.

Silently, Yang picked up a shovel. At her side, Jaune did the same.

They weren't worried about getting dirt on their suit and dress. They would, but it wasn't important. This was for Zephyr, not them.

It didn't need to be too deep.

Pyrrha and Weiss carried the gravestone and carefully lowered it into the hole. The soil shifted and began to fill the small gap. The earth wrapped around the marble; embracing it. Welcoming the missing brother.

Quiet sang through the air.

It was overcast. The sun was hidden behind many clouds but there was no rain. Maybe it should rain.

If Lake and Dakota had lived, they would be around their ages. What would they have been like? What dreams had they had for their futures?

Zephyr would have been happier.

Would he have attended Beacon then? Did he manage to enjoy at least some of his time there?

Melody stepped forward. She placed a hand on the coffin. She swallowed, then spoke. "I didn't get to know you as well as I would have liked to. I would like to say I'm sorry but this isn't about me. I do hope that wherever you are, you are happier there than you were here and that you are with your siblings again."

Before, Yang had felt empty.

Now her eyes felt wet.

There were tears on Blake's face. She too placed a hand on the coffin. "You were our leader and taught me many important lessons. All I can say for everything you've done for me is thank you."

Ren and Nora stepped up. They placed a hand on the coffin. They said nothing. Both were silent. Nora swallowed heavily, but was silent. Ren opened his mouth. Nothing came out. He closed his mouth again.

Jaune nodded firmly and walked forward. He was quiet for a moment before opening his mouth. Trying to decide what to say. "Four guys and eight girls. Never stood a chance did we?" He tried to clear his throat. "We all make mistakes. I know part of you and I respect you so much for it. I would have liked to know all of you and I regret that I didn't help you as much as I should have. But I will keep my promise. I assure you of that."

Pyrrha put a hand on Jaune's shoulder and on the coffin. The hand for Jaune moved first. She didn't say a word.

Ruby was openly crying. She wasn't trying to hide it. But the tears fell silently. She only said two words. "Thank you."

Emerald stepped forward. She wasn't crying, but she was sad. She had that depressing smile. "Thank you."

Unconsciously, Yang was next to walk forward. The coffin was cold to the touch. Smooth. It felt wrong but didn't. It was wrong, this whole situation was wrong, it wasn't fair-

Yang took a deep breath. Fought back her tears. But then, there was a small calm. Almost detached. Something stirred inside her but she didn't look closer. She couldn't swallow the lump in her throat no matter how hard she tried.

The coffin had a pattern on it. One half was made up of Zephyr's symbol but there was something else. She recognised runes on the corners and knew enough to know that was something to make sure he was never disturbed. The other symbols though…Yang didn't know. Wind, sun and wings.

"You were a lot of things Zephyr. One thing I think is the most important for you is that you were a good brother. You were. Much better than me. Wherever you are, you deserve peace and I hope you're with your siblings too. I would have loved to have known them. They sounded like great kids."

There were still clouds in the sky. But it didn't seem as dark as it had been. Somehow, it seemed brighter. It didn't feel brighter.

There was now a slight breeze.

It was a few seconds before Mercury joined them. Like them, he placed a hand on the coffin. Unlike them, it was his left hand. His real one.

Seven of them only knew the Zephyr he had shown them. Only one knew most of him.

"I remember our little chats well Zephyr and now…I think I have some answers for you." He paused here. "For starters, you're not going to be as forgotten as you think. We're funny that way and I for one am almost insulted you thought we would."

Yang shook her head in agreement of that. All of them did.

"And for the record, we won the food fight. The prank war is debateable, I'll give you that."

There were smiles at that.

Mercury took a deeper breath than normal.

"What kind of person you were…I would say complicated." He glanced at Blake there. Yang knew why.

Blake did too. "Integrity."

Mercury smiled for a moment. It was gone when he continued. "Complicated. Integrity. You were _alive_ Zephyr. You may have hated it for most of your unusual existence, but that is life. The pranks and playing around were childish but fun? It was why we did it. It made us happy. It made you happy too, if only for a while. We could forget about our realities. That was the point."

…

Mercury sighed. "I never met your siblings. But from what you told me…I think they would be proud of you. For starters, you never forgot them. If you loved them half as much as you showed, then they would have turned out great. From the sound of it though, it was probably for Remnant's safety that Dakota and Nora never met. A giant marshmallow sounds like a great understatement."

Yang's lips quirked there. So that was what Dakota was like.

Ren spoke quietly then. "You looked after us when you were our leader like we were family. I would have been proud to be your brother."

"Me too," Nora murmured.

Blake dipped her head a little, but didn't speak. Maybe she couldn't.

"Maybe in other circumstances we would never have met you. Maybe you would have chosen to go to a university or maybe you would have chosen to take up the family business. We'll never know." Mercury traced a symbol gently. Zephyr's. "But that's not what happened and thinking too much on that is going to cause nothing but pain. You once said you were happy you met us. All of us. I can only speak for myself but…I'm glad I met you. All of you."

A claim that no one else could make.

A claim that Mercury wouldn't make unless he truly meant it.

"You won't be forgotten Zephyr," Blake promised.

As one, with unspoken and unplanned synchronisation, all eight stepped back.

Yang's unknown path took her to the side of the unfilled grave. Ruby stood by her side with Emerald on the other. Jaune stood on the other side with Pyrrha and Weiss at his sides.

Mercury drew one of the re-forged silver Dust knives from its sheath. He gave it to Melody. She took it and stopped at the tombstone. She hesitated before she began to carve the words. Despite the obvious words, no noise resounded from the act.

Blake patted Mercury on the shoulder. She silently led him to the coffin where Nora and Ren had stayed. Each moved to a certain point and, together, they picked the coffin up.

There was no breeze now.

Melody was standing and watching when the coffin was laid to rest in the grave.

The four stepped back. Blake and Mercury with Yang. Ren and Nora with Pyrrha.

…

"Goodbye Zephyr."

Ruby said it aloud.

They all said it in their hearts.

The soil began to sprinkle back into the ground, slowly and softly covering the one laid to rest. The fallen friend. He had seemed so happy at Beacon; so relaxed and free. His troubles hadn't been known. He hadn't shown them; hadn't told them. Perhaps he could have found more peace in his extended life. Perhaps…

Regret.

Sadness.

Hope.

Melody began to sing.

After the first line, Mercury joined in.

Then Blake.

Weiss.

Ren and Nora.

Jaune and Pyrrha.

Ruby and Yang.

Emerald.

Zephyr had picked the song way back. Back before he left; before they had even left Remnant temporarily. Back before they realised they had only seen part of him. Now, it seemed more appropriate. Maybe he had known the truth about himself, even if he refused to see it until later.

Integrity. Complicated.

They were good words.

Not just to describe someone.

Good words to live by.

The grave was now full. Grass began to grow.

The three graves stood identical now.

Only then did it begin to rain.

Time didn't exist anymore.

Eleven friends saying goodbye to a twelfth forever.

* * *

'Zephyr Oakley

Loving Brother

True Friend

Family is Family, Beyond Life and Death'


	20. Back in the Game

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

It was a Saturday.

For the first time, the girls of RMEY had stayed a Beacon. The reason for that had been Mercury had been called the day before to see if he was interested in a mission.

Mercury had been.

It was simple enough: security nodes that monitored Grimm activity were down and they needed someone to help manually fix them, provided they hadn't been completely destroyed. An amateur could do it. Apparently Ozpin had been thinking about using it for first years as one was in Emerald Forest and the other was about a half mile from that.

Now Ozpin wanted Mercury to meet him in his office.

 _He better not have changed his mind._

Honestly, he wanted something far more challenging, but while Mercury's aura had been fine he hadn't yet been in the field to test it under pressure. He also was going alone, so he could test his new weapon without worrying about hitting anyone or getting awkward questions.

Ozpin was working on paperwork when he entered. Mercury sat in the chair opposite, relaxed and waited. When Ozpin put the sheet down, Mercury tilted his head slightly to take a peek. It looked like a test result.

"Most students aren't interested in paperwork," Ozpin commented without looking up.

"Well you do have a lack of _anything_ in this office." Mercury looked up. "Save for the gears. Are they for the clock?"

"Partially, but the clock can function well enough if something damages them." Ozpin put the pen down and turned his attention to his guest then. "This particular test is Ruby's."

"She tells me she's doing well."

"She is." Ozpin was quiet for a moment, obviously thinking something through. "Mercury, can I ask you when the last time you saw your friends? Your family aside."

Mercury shrugged. "Two months ago at Zephyr's funeral. I do work a lot of the week though, so I wouldn't see them much."

"The time before?"

"The Wednesday before that to tell them about said funeral."

"And before that?"

What was he getting at? Mercury thought back. "When I…returned to public. Four months ago. Why?"

Ozpin digested that for a moment. "Would you believe me if I told you they were the only times they left Beacon? Blake aside."

Mercury blinked. "Come again?"

"If they were first years, I would think nothing of it. However, last year, you all visited Vale at least once a week. Save for the times you mentioned, they have not been to Vale or even out of Beacon."

"That's…weird." _Not even for a dinner out or bowling or mini golf or anything?_ "Never? You're sure?"

"I'm sure. Security was a little stricter after LiaGuard was taken and people had to use their names if they wanted to borrow an airship and those cameras are still working. No more joke names."

Mercury chuckled. Good times.

"On top of that, they have been spending most of their free time in the gym or in the library. There are almost no pranks or stupid decisions from them in the same time either."

Hence their sudden rise in grades. Mercury did recall the last time he saw Ruby and she showed him a move he would have suggested she wait until she had grown a few inches. He was slightly surprised she hadn't smacked herself in the head.

"Are you complaining that they're doing better in school?" That wasn't the problem and Mercury knew it. He was trying to find something he had missed.

"Academic wise, no. Emotionally, I worry for them. Had you noticed anything?"

Well, to be fair, Ozpin had lived for a while on Earth with Remedy and Burgundy so Mercury could see why he was rather attached to them. It was also remarkably difficult to discuss those two teams without Jump involved now.

Mercury raised an eyebrow. "You do realise that I'm the one they're trying to act normal around, right?" Then he shook his head and sighed. "But I have noticed a few things. If you think it's that much of a problem, give them the name of that therapist you suggested to Emerald. What did Qrow and Tai say?" Because there was no way this hadn't been discussed with them.

"That four months did count as a pattern, that they were behaving fine at home and to treat you like an adult about both discussions."

Ozpin treated Mercury like an adult anyway.

"…Both?"

"I'll get to that." And from the look on his face, it wasn't a discussion Ozpin wanted to have either. "But what I wanted to ask was if you noticed anything and if you were willing to let the girls join you on your mission today."

It was irritating, but it didn't require much thinking. "Yeah sure. Things go well and we'll be back by lunchtime. If it's a type of sabotage we'll be lucky to catch dinner."

"From anyone else I would take that as a joke. With you, I feel the need to point out how easily you find trouble, especially when you're alone."

"Part of the reason I wanted to be alone in the first place." In his defence, Glade Town wasn't entirely his fault. The Vytal Festival was completely his fault though; he was willing to admit to that. "Think it'll help?"

"Possibly. If nothing more, it might show exactly what is happening."

Mercury leaned back in his chair. "You're a learned spirit Ozpin. What do you think?"

"I'm not a doctor Mercury."

"What I know is that the memories that stick with normal people are the traumatic ones. Those are the ones that are going to be clearest."

Ozpin sighed with a smile. "Not a bad theory. Not entirely inaccurate either but I'm not going into that. What I am thinking is that they're trying your approach to trauma. Or rather, what they _think_ is your response to trauma."

Mercury groaned. "Good grief. If that's true, something's going to snap eventually." Detachment and contentment was not something they would understand, so they would think it was suppression. Which would not end well because emotions do not like to be bottled up.

Still…Why would Emerald pick his way? She should be enjoying the finer things in life. She had her own way of dealing with things.

He didn't think that Ozpin was entirely right, but he couldn't be sure the man was entirely wrong either.

"They're coming with me. What's the second discussion?"

"Something that is going to depress me and aggravate you. Another time."

Fine by Mercury.

He had far more important problems.

Mercury stood up and stretched. "Anything else I need to know?"

"No. The closest security node is inside the cave next to where Jaune's locker landed last year." The 'with him inside' went unsaid.

Thinking back, Cardin had backed off Jaune after that. Had that been because of the teachers rather than Jaune learning how to actually _use_ his weapons?

"We'll start there then." Once he found the girls anyway. Emerald Forest wasn't far and didn't require an airship to get to.

"I'm not sending a professor this time Mercury but _do_ keep in touch."

"Of course," Mercury smiled innocently.

Now. Saturday morning.

They _should_ be enjoying the free morning or doing something remarkably stupid that they could only get away with because they were in school. Something that was an utter waste of time but was still greatly enjoyable.

But if Ozpin was right, they would be in the gym or the library.

Where to start?

"Hey Mercury. Good to see you."

Mercury glanced around, finding the speaker. It took a moment for the name to come. "Hey Drake." Short for Drakinion. Mercury could see why he shortened it. He would be fourth year now. "How's Vanessa?" His crush last year. That was probably different now.

"Taking her out to dinner tonight." Huh. Go figure. "Nice try though."

Mercury shrugged. "Me and the grapevine don't get along well."

"Oh, I know. Some guys and gals are heading to the warehouses by the docks tomorrow night for some fun. You interested?"

The last time he went out with these guys and gals, they had decided that playing dodge with a machine gun spinning down from the roof was a good idea. Mercury was still surprised the gun managed to completely empty its magazine on the trip on the pole they sent it down. To be fair, when the police showed up due to noise complaints, the ones responsible for the idea had quickly owned up to it.

"I'll pass."

"Street car racing."

Then again, that sounded interesting. But his response was currently the same. "Probably not."

Drake shrugged. "Just give me a call if you change your mind. Bring your team too if you want. I can see the sisters doing well."

"Why?"

"Well, we all know Ruby's Semblance so stick her behind the wheel and she could be _brilliant_." A fair point if Ruby actually knew how to drive a car. Which she didn't. "And I know Yang has a bike. I bet she could have won that race hands down."

Mercury blinked. "She turned bike racing down?" If _that_ didn't say something was wrong, nothing would. Yang had once joked to him that, after Huntress, bike racing was her preferred profession.

"Yep. That sucker should never have won and I swear he stole his ride."

Mercury was still thinking about Yang, but he continued the conversation anyway. "Who was the sucker?"

"Noir Blanco."

"He definitely stole it."

Drake threw his hands in the air. "Thank you!" Then he caught sight of his watch. "Shit. I got to go. Your girls are either in the gym or library. See you around." He ran off towards the school.

Mercury ran a hand through his hair, thinking.

He knew that the girls had some problems. After that first night, he had always been joined in bed when they were home. They just couldn't last a night without having a nightmare; any of them. If they weren't in his bed, they went to one of the other's. After the third weekend, Mercury gave up and suggested they sleep together in the living room. None of them had had a nightmare then.

After a moment, Mercury headed into the school. He didn't aim for the library or the gym. Instead, he went to the dorm room. His key for it had been in the locker with his other belongings in LiaGuard luckily, but then if Pepper was determined enough she would have probably tried to get in through the window while invisible. However, Cinder had kept sending them on jobs away from the school.

Mercury was honestly surprised she stuck to that deal.

One look inside the dorm and Mercury could tell: neither of the single beds had been slept in for quite some time.

 _At least they're sleeping fine here._

Beacon was well known to them. It was safe. Home was obviously safe. It was somewhere where they instinctively relaxed. It was somewhere that some could force themselves to relax.

They may respond differently in the field.

So. What did he do?

Mercury let out a long breath.

He had been hoping that this mission _wasn't_ as simple as it looked. Now he wasn't so sure. Something simple would be better as they would be safer because unpredictable things seemed popular around him but something more might knock them out of their comfort zone. Is that a good idea or not?

 _Won't know until we get into the forest. But if they're in denial rather than suppressing…_

The library was the closest. On top of that, last year they had had their study sessions on Saturday mornings. That may have been moved with Yang, Ruby and Emerald going home every weekend.

To every weekday apparently.

 _But even if the girls are more traumatised than I thought, then what about the others? Why are they behaving this way? Blake goes home often so maybe I should talk to her but…What's going on?_

Pyrrha glanced up and, oddly enough, there was relief in her eyes for a moment.

That hadn't been there that Wednesday evening.

Funerals were a time for depression.

Jaune looked up without any cue from Pyrrha. Maybe they had been working on aura reading. "Morning Mercury. Heading out?"

"Soon." Mercury glanced over Weiss' shoulder to look at what they were doing. Grimm Studies on Beringals and Griffons.

"Where's Talaria?" Emerald asked with an accusatory frown.

"She's not my bodyguard today." He looked at her properly then. She didn't normally like hoodies and he was sure that one had been left at Patch. "You three are."

"Finally," Weiss muttered very quietly. The others didn't hear.

"What." Yang's pen dropped from her hand.

"It's a job in Emerald Forest. Easy enough for first years, so it's a fun trip out. Now go get your stuff."

For two seconds, none of them moved.

Then Emerald shifted. They all got up and left. Silently.

Mercury took Ruby's seat. "Okay. What's been going on?"

"No idea," Melody replied instantly. "They're driven. Almost obsessed with getting stronger. It's getting beyond crazy."

"And you lot?"

Jaune understood his question first. "It just doesn't feel right leaving them out and they're not really interested in anything else. We've managed to coax them into a hand-to-hand combat club but everything else…" He shrugged helplessly. "Personally, I'm getting worried. They might seriously hurt themselves one of these days."

"Yang turned down a bike race. Know anything about that?"

They all looked appropriately confused and dismayed.

"I know it was a month ago; a few of my friends went." Melody groaned. "I would have called you if I heard about Yang turning it down. Raine told her about it and I was sure she went. She kept dodging the issue when I asked and…" She too shrugged.

"When did it start?" If the problem was just with his girls then the logical answer was when he vanished.

"After you came back," Ren stated.

Mercury wasn't expecting that.

Jaune continued. "It was the opposite for when you were gone. They put all their energy in trying to be normal; acting like everything was fine. When you returned…I mean as soon as they returned to Beacon that day…That's when. We only caught it two weeks later but…nothing's worked."

"You're the problem," Weiss said simply. "You're the key to fix it."

"Weiss!" Blake hissed.

"She's not wrong," Mercury cut in before anyone said anything else. He rubbed his temples. "I've just got to work around the fact that I am the _last_ person they want to think anything's wrong."

Person.

…

 _That_ might get somewhere.

 _If Harry wouldn't open up to Sirius but did open up to Padfoot…_

"Don't suppose they can talk to your parents?" Nora asked.

"We all know I'm the problem. If this trip doesn't pan out, then that'll be next. I just don't think it'll work and neither do they." The sole reason Tai and Qrow hadn't said anything. They had suggested to him before to let them tag along on his first mission, but he had wanted to do it alone.

He just hadn't realised how bad it was.

"That mission Emerald was injured on." Blake's amber eyes were soft. "What she needed to do was to admit to _herself_ she needed help. You may not be the entire problem."

Jaune made a sound that was a cross between a groan and a growl. "Mercury you're not the problem-"

"Jaune." Mercury met his eyes. "I appreciate it but you don't need to tell me what they mean. I know." He glanced behind him. Still no girls. They shouldn't take that long.

"I moved Yang's gauntlets after our sparring yesterday," Pyrrha murmured.

Mercury chuckled turning back. "You have a death wish."

"Precisely the point. I'm just surprised she hadn't noticed earlier."

"This was first thing. She wouldn't have noticed until she was looking for them." Even so, that wasn't a big dorm to search. "Where'd you put them?"

"Under the cabinet in the bathroom with a few things to hide them from view. Enough to think that she didn't put it away properly."

"I won't mention it." His eyes fell on the old drawing of a Beringal.

Ren smiled. "Seems like ages ago, doesn't it? Initiation."

"I'm doing the advanced course. I'm getting worried what they're going to do to me for Graduation."

"I can give you a few suggestions," Nora offered.

"I'll hear them but…" Seeing as he wasn't sure when he wasn't going to see them next. "Weiss, can I talk to you alone? About your brother."

Weiss hadn't been interested until he said 'brother'. She nodded and stood up; him following her. The others said nothing and watched them go.

There were a few greetings from loads of people to both of them. They replied hello instinctively. Seeing as Yang was probably ripping his old dorm apart, Weiss took him to hers. Other than being a lot more organised than he remembered, it was the same as ever.

"Right." Weiss sat on her bed. "What do you know about Whitely?"

One thing Marcus Black's School for Assassination never taught: how to deal with the relatives properly.

"Right." He didn't _want_ to tell her, but she deserved to know. There were also other people who could tell her so she might find out in a worse way. Then again… He sighed. "I killed him."

That almost certainly _wasn't_ the way to tell her but was there even a good way to say it other than being blunt?

…

…

"Explain." Her face was stone hard.

Mercury took a deep breath. "What do you know about psychological triggers?"

"Get to your point."

"That _is_ the point." How to explain it? "Okay, that dog experiment. Ring a bell, give food and they salivate. Ring the bell, don't give the food and they still salivate. That was the basic idea. In humans, it's a little more complicated, especially what they were trying to do to him."

"What were they doing?" No change in emotion.

"They put a trigger in his brain. Say a certain key phrase and he would act a certain way. Wasn't even aware he was doing it and wouldn't remember it. When I saw him, they were testing it by having him perform surgery on people. Unless you are going to tell me he has been doing organ removal since he was one, it definitely worked. Not a millimetre wrong."

…

"You're sure it was him?"

"Very."

"He performed surgery on you." That wasn't a question. Her face was very flat.

"He did, but it was my appendix and I don't need that." Could have done without being awake for that but he hadn't been in much position to argue. A flicker across Weiss' face and he realised he shouldn't have said that. "Other people weren't so lucky. Thing is…They were going to send him back home."

Weiss' eyes narrowed a little at that. But she didn't say anything.

"Basil worked with them. He thought you would do something to get yourself disowned and everything goes to Whitely. But they couldn't be sure. How easy would it be to kill someone within your house? You have butlers but…Would your father call the police or anything?"

Weiss still didn't say anything.

"After he was done operating on me, he was ordered on to somebody else. At least six others. The drugs keeping me immobilised eventually wore off and I had a choice. I killed him to protect you. Your father didn't factor into it."

Ginger and Basil knew they were in trouble then. They hadn't been quick enough to stop him and, against all orders, hadn't kept him chained down. They hadn't thought Mercury would do anything and he hadn't tried to escape before, mainly because he knew he couldn't. Everything he had was needed to keep him alive and somewhat healthy.

Whitely was part of a long term project and should never have been near Mercury in the first place. Now they had to try and cover it up. Whitely went into the time simulator to throw off time of death and no doubt they had blamed someone else. That was when Basil had drilled screws into his spine. Mercury was sure he had been trying to kill him, but in a way that could look like a sadistic accident.

He never saw Basil after that. Only Ginger and any 'friends' she brought. He had been surprised to learn that Basil had been killed by Zephyr and not Cinder or any of her accomplices.

"He didn't do anything to deserve to die."

"Whitely? No." Mercury was sure he had no idea what he was doing. The problem then became he couldn't stop it.

One minute.

Two minutes.

"Let's go back to the others. I have an essay to finish and employee data to go over. You have a mission and a problematic family."

That…wasn't what he was expecting.

He had been expecting her to get very violent. He would have let her; taken any hit she threw. It wasn't like she would have actually managed to hurt him. Her quietly accepting it hadn't entered his mind as a possibility.

"Weiss…"

"I don't want to discuss this now. I will let you know if I want to know more. At the moment, that's enough."

"…Shall I tell your father?"

"No one is going to tell my father. I see no need to take this further. You confessed to me. I will decide what to do with it."

Mercury nodded slowly. He had not intended to tell anyone else. "You have my number."

Now he could get back to his family problem.

"How are your studies coming along?" Mercury blinked as he turned his attention back to Weiss. She had become friendly once more. "You don't have access to the school library."

"So far, the library in Vale has had what I need." Had Weiss hated her brother that much that she didn't care he killed him? "The professors are satisfied I'll pass the physical once I get back into shape." He was sure he was, but he had yet to try a field test.

"You will, though I'm sure the missions will help. I'm more concerned about them than you."

"Right now, I'm worried about you." Because he was quite sure this wasn't normal either.

She thought about it. "I…mourned Whitely when he went missing. His death wasn't a surprise, though the circumstances are. I cannot say I was close to him but for now…I feel very little. That will change soon I'm sure, but I will get help if I need it. I don't wish to talk about it unless I bring it up."

"Understood." Surely Weiss was smart enough to know better than to do nothing if it gets to her.

 _Which it should. But maybe not today._

At least everyone was already on edge and it wouldn't go unnoticed.

They certainly noticed a change in Weiss when the pair sat down again. They didn't say anything though; just gave the pair and each other significant glances.

Weiss picked up her pen once more. "We were occupied with a Death Stalker. What was your strategy to deal with the Beringal?"

Rather than just tell her the strategy that worked, he gave her a full account of their testing beforehand as well. They all took notes, but Mercury's attention remained on Weiss. Mourning came and went from what he could tell and maybe it hadn't truly hit her yet, but she was holding up well enough. Maybe she could sort her mind to focus only on the topic at hand and she could push everything to the back of her mind easily if required.

 _Ruby, Emerald and Yang have their family. They know I'm the problem. Weiss' problem is obviously about her brother, but she can't really talk to her family about it. As long as she doesn't get herself or anyone killed, though she's entitled to take a few goes at me, then there's not much more I can do._

The story didn't take long, but it was still another five minutes before the three finally made an appearance. How in the world had it taken _that_ long? It was just as well they weren't on a schedule.

They were all apparently in a very good mood, laughing about something.

"Have fun!" Nora waved as they left.

"I will," Mercury replied. Whether they would or not depended on how angry they got at him. When they got into the corridor, he spoke again. "What kept you?"

Emerald shrugged. "Yang couldn't find her gauntlets and then Ruby wanted to bring along some gravity Dust but couldn't remember where she put it."

"I left it at home," Ruby grumbled. "Won't happen again." Then she brightened up again. "So where we going?"

 _Interesting. That was definitely intentional._

"Emerald Forest. The security nodes have been going down. Someone needs to be out there to manually fix them."

"Sounds simple enough." Yang stretched.

"It's a first year mission. It should be." Provided that the nodes had gone down to Grimm and not sabotage. It honestly wouldn't surprise him, especially with Cinder's presence there even if it was some time ago.

"Good."

The other two didn't disagree.

Odd. The entire time at Mountain Glenn they had been looking for trouble. That was what they did.

Yet now they wanted something easy?

 _I know this bothered them but…this much?_

The entire time on the way to Emerald Forest, Mercury waited for them to choose the topics. What they picked was all mission related and literally nothing else. Ruby was suggesting team ideas for them to try out, but that was all.

If this kept up, it was going to be a long day.

It only took five minutes before fifteen Creeps showed up. Mercury was slightly surprised there were fifteen Creeps in the area and they were barely in. He hung back and watched; something that was very easy to do with the Grimm completely ignoring him.

Emerald was fast and efficient. Nothing too off.

Yang obviously had a lot of pent up anger, but her Semblance hadn't activated yet. Even so, those Creeps did not deserve the battering they had got.

This was the least flashy he had ever seen Ruby. As these were Creeps he was perfectly fine with that but it was still odd.

What did bother him a lot was how quiet they were. Not a word. No trash talking from Yang and no childish but endearing commentary from Ruby.

Catching sight of a small Beowulf pack nearby and approaching, he focused his attention completely on them. He knew where the girls were standing and he saw a weak spot in their little stance. He reached out with his will to the Grimm and _commanded_ them there.

There was a very good reason why he asked Ozpin if Salem reincarnated. The Grimm had ignored him at Mountain Glenn. After he returned from LiaGuard, he once spent an entire evening playing fetch with a Beowulf as if it were a dog. The instant Tai was in sense range, it stopped all games but didn't go after him.

Mercury hadn't told anyone that he now had some control over Grimm. He had no plan to. That was just begging for trouble.

But it had meant no Grimm showed up for Zephyr's funeral.

Emerald noticed the Grimm first. He wasn't sure how as they were out of her sight range and they had been silent. "Three Beowolves to the right."

Ruby and Yang responded. Yang sidestepped to cover her side and Ruby used her Semblance to tear through the Beowolves. There was _still_ nothing. They didn't seem to be enjoying it.

 _Okay. May as well do it now._

They weren't complaining Mercury wasn't fighting. They didn't seem to be paying much attention to him. Maybe they didn't want him fighting at all.

They hadn't _told_ him to stay back, but those three Beowolves were really aiming for him from their position. Slipping through their defences. They had been very quick to close it.

Okay.

He had seen enough.

Mercury would let them a little more affectionate than he would like because he knew they needed it but there was a _limit_ to how much overprotectiveness he would tolerate and this was far past that limit.

He was not going to put up with this all day.

Trying to babysit someone was far too much stress and the fact they had chosen to do this certainly explained _why_ they were so abnormal recently.

So he was going to be a little cruel.

* * *

Creeps and Beowolves were very easy to deal with, but Emerald took no chances. One mistake was all it took to lose and lose a lot. She had learned that lesson when she was young, but had forgotten it. That would never happen again.

She closed her eyes and 'felt' the area around her. She couldn't sense any more Grimm nearby and there was very little natural wildlife in the area, most of which were birds. There was no Qrow. Ruby and Yang were still by her side-

Where had Mercury gone?

"Mercury?" Yang had noticed. "Mercury!"

Was he hurt again?

Emerald was going to kill him.

 _Where is he? Where is he…?_

He should have been _safe._ He was with them; how did he just vanish?

 _Please no…_

She thought she could sense him. He wasn't far but he didn't feel the same. It wasn't the same difference from that wrong aura animal either. This was something else.

"It couldn't…" Ruby mumbled, hyperventilating a little.

"He's nearby and I think he's fine." He wouldn't be when Emerald caught up with him though. She could barely look at him without seeing his state when Qrow carried him from that simulator. She couldn't shake that image now.

He hadn't gone far. Only a few feet.

Emerald stared.

Ruby and Yang had stayed right with her.

They stared.

The grey-eyed black fox flicked his half dark silver tail.

…

A memory of Qrow changing into a crow…

"Mercury…?" It was a question, but she thought she was sure.

It nodded once.

…

"He's adorable!"

Yang burst out laughing.

Fox-Mercury growled at Ruby.

That set Emerald off. She laughed. It felt good to laugh.

"Well, you are!" Ruby cooed. "So cute and fluffy!"

They just laughed harder.

Fox-Mercury just growled louder.

Ruby completely ignored it and dashed over to him. She reached out and petted his head. He didn't seem to mind that. Then she picked him up, causing the fox to let out a very indignant yelp. He did mind that.

Yang looked like she was ready to pass out; she was laughing that hard.

"Your fur's soft too. Like a cuddly teddy bear. Can you stay like this forever?"

That idea…Emerald could picture it perfectly…

That was _so_ funny.

If a fox could look incredulous, Mercury was managing it.

It was difficult to focus, but Emerald somehow managed. Still chuckling, she reached out and showed Mercury an illusion of what she had just pictured.

 _Now_ Mercury had had enough.

He squirmed, trying to get out of Ruby's grip.

Giggling, Ruby just held him tighter.

The fox literally fell through Ruby's arms and quickly trotted away. A moment later and person Mercury was standing there with his arms folded, glaring at Ruby.

"I am _not_ cute!"

That set all three off again, but Emerald was sure he could hear their stammered disagreement.

That did not mean she was going to forgive him anytime soon.

* * *

Well.

They had laughed. Properly.

It occurred to Mercury now that it was the first time in a long time he had heard that. They had sounded so carefree. So different and so _right_.

"Cute," Mercury scoffed as they continued on. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect when they saw him in that form, though he was thinking a response like that from Ruby and/or Yang. But cute? Adorable? _Cuddly?!_

"You were," Ruby half whined. "You'd make a great pillow."

"You use me as a pillow anyway."

"I know. But not like that. I think you'd be more comfy."

He probably would be, but that was _not_ happening. "Nope. Nu-Uh. Not happening. Use Zwei if that's what you want."

"But-"

"No."

"You-"

"No."

Ruby opened her mouth.

"No."

She sighed. "That's not fair."

"No." Mercury gave her a friendly smile.

Ruby stuck her tongue out at him.

Yang ruffled her hair playfully. Then she turned to Mercury. "Do you need a rabies jab?"

Mercury snorted. "That and probably every other jab I should have gotten when I was growing up."

Emerald shrugged. "I managed fine. Besides, if you let a rabid dog get that close to you, you've really lost your game."

Mercury wasn't going to mention he had somehow managed to find himself the target of a fox hunt when he had no control or memory of shapeshifting. "I'll keep that in mind."

"So how did you do it?" Yang piped in.

"Not sure. Qrow shapeshifts into a crow with magic and we _think_ he accidentally gave some to me. Which resulted in both of us transforming and then waking up with no memory of how we got anywhere. So Ozpin had to sort it out as he gave it to Qrow in the first place." And Raven but he wasn't bringing that up.

Apparently Talaria had been letting Fox Mercury out of the window and following him around. It would have been nice if she told him that.

"Do you have fox instincts?" Ruby cut in. "What do foxes do?"

Quite a bit, he had learned. "Sort of. They're there but easy to ignore." He thought about it, then added. "Save for the time I ate a spider before I could stop myself." He had been pretty hungry. Seeing Emerald's revulsion, he chuckled. "Yeah, it tasted horrible. No idea why Talaria likes it so much."

Ruby giggled.

Yang gave him a pat on the back. "A spider? Was there something wrong with the beetles?"

"I wasn't a fan of their music."

Yang just laughed. "You have no taste for the classics."

"Being a classic is no excuse for being rubbish."

"Little brother, you don't know a thing about good music."

That did not dignify a response.

Still. That little trick had done some good for Ruby and Yang.

Emerald was going to be a little bit harder. That stunt had probably made things worse. He should have just stayed where he was and shifted.

"Ooh, Griffon. Dibs!" Ruby vanished in a burst of petals over the cliff.

Yang shrugged. "Fine. I get the Ursa." And over she went.

Which conveniently left him alone with Emerald.

With an idle thought of what Griffons were even doing in Emerald Forest, he turned to her. "Emerald-"

She wouldn't look at him. "Do you have _any_ idea-"

"A rough one," he cut in. "I left you with Ginger. That was a mistake." One he still regretted and that was before Ginger showed him _exactly_ what had happened.

"Very. Different."

Ruby had just done a triple spin, bounced off the ground and was now riding the Griffon with a gleeful almost cackle. Two Ursa down and two to go for Yang, who seemed to like dancing around them.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't care."

Mercury tried not to wince at her harsh tone. He didn't know how successful he was.

He swallowed. "What do you want me to say Maia? That the drug won't work on me anymore because I've now got too much aura? That I'm working on a way to shatter my opponent's aura by just touching them? That my new weapon makes fighting long range a lot more practical?"

"…Is that true?"

"Well yeah, but that's not the point, is it?"

"No. It's not."

…

Ruby appeared, bobbing on her heels. "That was awesome! Griffon Express! Think we'll see a Goliath?"

"Really hopefully not," Emerald replied with a smile to her. She bopped Ruby on the nose. "Come on. The first one isn't far."

Yang had already gone on ahead and it looked like she had caught a Boarbatusk with her hands. How nice that there were four of them in this little area, though that cave would be a good place for them. It seemed a little small though. This might be where Port got his Grimm for class.

 _May as well try it now._

Mercury's new weapon didn't look like much. In fact, it only looked like a sword handle without the sword. Rather than aesthetic designs, he had put Dust powered Runes into it. It could separate into two so he could dual wield if he wished, but the Dust crystal remained in one and not the other. Only that half could use the Dust power.

It had been Weiss' rapier that inspired this. However, rather than rely solely on replaceable Dust (which was fine if you were a Schnee and had constant access to it), Mercury had found a way to manipulate his aura to use the Dust effects, but not use the Dust itself. That had been remarkably tricky and exhausting. Nine times his aura had spontaneously shattered when he tried. The Dust crystal within had been the one Zephyr had gifted. Half rainbow Dust, half black Dust. He had yet to figure out what the black Dust actually did, but he had managed to access all the elements within the rainbow Dust, which was famous for having all of them.

The reason that there was no blade was because it was made entirely of aura.

Mercury could pick any shape for the blade when it was only his aura. What he preferred to choose was Qrow's, although if necessary he would also go with a katana not unlike Raven's. However, if he used an element, he didn't really get to pick what shape it was. Most weren't practical.

For a Boarbatusk, it wasn't necessary. But Mercury wanted to try it out.

Then he had to finally pick a name for it because Ruby would never let it go otherwise. Boots were one thing; this was something else entirely.

The Boarbatusk went into its roll and charged full speed at him.

Mercury raised the blade and twisted it sideways, effectively making a barrier. The Boarbatusk bounced off it. If he hadn't seen the hit, Mercury probably wouldn't have noticed. He had barely sensed anything.

It bounced backwards.

Timing his strike, Mercury dashed forward and drove the 'blade' straight into its vulnerable stomach.

It was dead instantly.

While anti-climactic, his aura had taken what should have been a strong hit to a normal person, which didn't even qualify as a scratch to him, and regenerated back to full before it was even a centimetre back. So far so good.

 _And good luck to Ironwood if he's doing the smart thing and trying to create an aura-suppressing collar that would do a proper job on me now._

After pulling his aura back in (making the blade vanish), he looked around to see how the others were faring.

Emerald had just set hers on fire. Interesting. The fire wasn't burning the grass below so it wasn't going to spread. She was looking at his toy with a raised eyebrow, but she didn't comment. He didn't say anything about that display either.

The other two hadn't seen his or Emerald's 'battles'. Ruby had gone the route to play dodgems and let the Boarbatusk uncurl itself rather than attack it. Yang was having too much fun wrestling it to kill it quick. But as soon as it lost and hit the floor, she punched it into oblivion.

Boarbatusk. Griffon. They were a challenge for first and sometimes second years, but no problem for Ruby and Yang. They had certainly improved.

The Beringal in Emerald Forest for their Initiation should not have been there. Ozpin admitted that and if it had been any other group that didn't have Emerald and Mercury in it, the professors would have stepped in.

 _Nice to know we were singled out from day one. At least he didn't underestimate us._

Griffons though…

They shouldn't be here. Creeps: cannon fodder. Beowolves: easy. Ursa: fine. All alpha and major okay. But nothing higher.

With the security nodes down, they wouldn't have known it was in the area. Maybe it wasn't sabotage but more powerful Grimm than they were equipped to handle.

"And there's the dent in the ground that Jaune's locker made."

"Oh yeah."

"Still should have broken his legs," Yang muttered.

"In here?" Emerald asked, to which he nodded. He stayed with the blood sisters but heard Emerald head inside. It might be a good idea to give her some space for now.

"Mercury. Come here."

Or maybe not. He turned back to the cave entrance, but she wasn't in sight. The other two hadn't responded at all though. That was an impressive improvement for her Semblance.

"Give me a minute," Mercury half asked.

Ruby shrugged. "Sure. Em seems pretty mad at you."

"For good reason."

"Please don't kill each other," Yang sighed. "You're both impossible to replace."

Yang said that as if she was talking about her favourite movie.

"Err…Thanks." He thought.

The tunnel into the cave was longer than he expected. Not long, but longer. The size the cave was meant there were probably many Grimm in here. Did he want to keep them away for a proper talk or let them come in so both could let off some steam?

Something he did know was that he didn't care that Yang and Ruby were most likely listening in.

He didn't step into a cave.

He stepped into their living room.

Mercury didn't fight Emerald's hallucination. He looked around, but didn't move. Nothing was here because of happenstance; it was here because that's how Emerald remembered it or she was making a point.

He had heard the tune that was playing before. That was Yang on the kalimba; the same song. He liked that song.

He wouldn't like the rest of this.

The three girls were curled up in pile. The blood sisters looked like they were trying to sleep. Emerald wasn't. She just lay there in an eerie familiar gaze to him now. He had seen that blankness in some of the broken victims from both Marcus and LiaGuard. Ruby was wearing one of his shirts. Tai was on the couch nearby, looking like he hadn't slept in weeks. There was a crow on the back of said couch, feathers ruffled and sagged.

The music continued, but the scene changed.

It took Mercury a moment to place this one. It was a carnival, but it was the one from the Vytal Festival.

All the people around were nobodies, but he couldn't see his family anywhere. There was no point in moving; he saw what Emerald wanted him to see. The general games faded away into blackness. The mirror maze remained. Until that faded and the image was from inside.

The cracked mirror wasn't a surprise. The images inside it were.

Both were photos.

The now well-known STRQ photo was above the other, but it was wrong. Summer was covered completely in blood. Raven had been blurred out to the point she was impossible to recognise. Qrow and Tai…They were older, as they looked now. But the look in their eyes…

Mercury ripped his gaze away to the other one.

It was one that Tai had framed and had in the living room, taken right before they left for Beacon. It too was altered. Ruby's silver eyes were dull, no life in them. Yang's eyes weren't purple or red. They were black. In her left hand was a bloody pair of sunglasses. Emerald looked like the Emerald he first met, but worse. An Emerald before Cinder found her.

"Emerald."

It shattered.

Reality returned.

Emerald was standing there. Perfectly normal. "Do not do that again."

"I won't."

She nodded curtly before wandering around to the side of the cylindrical thing. "If this is the security node, this would be the problem."

Mercury, cautious of her mood, walked closer to her to have a look. "Guess it was sabotage after all." He had never seen that symbol before though. He pulled out his scroll, took a picture of it and sent it off to Port. That was his point of contact for this mission after all. Then he rang the man.

"Ah Mercury. Good to see you are making good progress."

Beowolves and Creeps were circling now. A few leapt for Emerald. She spun and sliced quickly. The Beowulf that went for him was easily kicked in mid-leap, smacking it hard enough against the ground to kill it.

"When was the last time you saw a Griffon in Emerald Forest?"

Ruby and Yang had run in now, probably due to the Grimm's snarls and growls. With a happy squee, Ruby jumped right at them. Yang stretched before she joined in.

"Not for some years. That is a worrying development." Putting the scroll on speaker and back on his belt, Mercury felt around this odd rectangle. His finger hit a snag and the whole thing came off. There were no electronics inside, so he dropped it. "For now, let's get the security node running again. There should be a hatch underneath the second red ring."

"All yours Merc," Yang called happily.

Mercury knelt down as he had a look. He touched what was a slightly more orange than red colour in the right place and it popped open. "Okay. Got it." He knew a little about mechanics, but the core of most things was the same. This was running on a parallel, not series circuit. "I think I see the problem. Let me try something." That little cube didn't look like it belonged. He might have got an electric shock for his troubles, but the red lighting inside switched to green. "How's that?"

"Perfect. Well done." Apparently Port was checking it on whatever passes as security in Beacon.

"No Grimm did that."

"Indeed not. Most likely it is to do with that mysterious symbol. I will investigate it. For now, press on to the second security node. It is just south of the ruins, half a mile from Forever Fall."

"Got it."

"A word of caution Remedy. There are much higher concentration of Grimm in the nearby area than normal. There are also four more Griffons and one Beringal nearby. A side mission for you is to exterminate them. I have sent the data to your scrolls."

These security nodes were pretty good and probably very necessary. "Sure thing." Mercury hung up.

He had heard the noise of battle, but had ignored it at the time. There were no Grimm around when he looked up. Ruby was already on her scroll, probably checking the map.

"The Griffons are together not too far here. The Beringal's back the way we came though. It would be quickest if we split up or does everyone want to stay together?"

The other three looked at each other. As one, they shrugged.

"Okay. I call leader privilege." _That's a thing now?_ "Me and Eris will take the Griffons. Artemis and Maia, Beringal's yours."

Again, the three shrugged in unison.

Honestly, Mercury would rather take the Griffons than the Beringal. He hadn't fought those four legged winged beasts before. It could be fun.

"Bet we'll be back before you will," Yang claimed. "And no using your Semblance or aura animals. That's cheating."

"How much?" Mercury asked.

"Twenty lien."

"That's some confidence." Theirs might be closer but still. "I'll take it. No magic either."

"Hear that Ruby? No fluffy cuddly fox."

Ruby pouted.

"Fair enough," Emerald replied, no sign of the anger that had been there before. "See you then."

The cave had three tunnels. Yang and Emerald headed back the way they came. Ruby and Mercury headed down one that they hoped would take them outside. If there was no exit, then Mercury would just use his Semblance to walk through the wall with Ruby.

"Leader privilege?"

"Well yeah. If no one says what they want, then I get to pick. Then they can't complain." Ruby shrugged at his raised eyebrow. "Well, if no one picks anything, we're going to be here all day."

A fair point that had nearly happened before.

These tunnels snaked about and were far longer than Mercury originally thought. He took a glance at his scroll but they were still heading in the right direction.

"I'm sorry Merc."

That was rather out of the blue. "What for?"

"Everything. I mean…Back then…I…"

"Ruby."

She bit her lip. But she stopped.

"None of it was your fault." They had never got around to talking about it…What happened at the Vytal Festival. "What happened between us was completely my fault."

"…Some things just don't work out," Ruby mumbled. "But it wasn't your fault. And you're still special to me."

That hurt. A lot.

It didn't help that it wasn't supposed to hurt.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of it to happen."

"I know that Eris and I'm not angry and it wasn't your fault. I just…It was wrong. You shouldn't have been alone that night."

"They were after me Ruby. I didn't realise that until it was too late. I was trying to lead them away from the Stadium, but they wanted me more. If you were there, it wouldn't have made any difference to the fight. Only that there would have been two captives rather than one. I don't regret that Ruby."

After he said it, he realised he shouldn't have said it.

But Ruby didn't flinch. She just slipped her hand into his.

The cave opened up into a meadow. Mercury had never been here before. The Griffons had been completely docile, but then they noticed the shadows the pair cast. They were also a little smaller than most of the ones depicted in textbooks and the one Ruby killed earlier. They must be very young.

She gave his hand a squeeze. She grinned happily.

"I fancy a game of hop scotch."

Mercury looked at Ruby. He looked at the Griffons. He looked at Ruby again.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Never felt better."

That wasn't _exactly_ what he asked, but it was what he meant.

Her aura felt calm. Excited even.

She was looking forward to a good day out.

 _I guess I am too._

* * *

 **AN: I do apologise for how fragmented the recent chapters have felt. I forgot to put in a timeline, so I'll say now that they are halfway through their second year at Beacon. As for the plot, very little actually happens for that before, which is why I focused more on the people. It's also why the narrative is more focused on Mercury recently, as he is more actively and inactively involved than many of the others.**

 **Thank you for reading**


	21. Walk Along the Trails

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

As it happened, Ruby and Mercury were back three minutes before Emerald and Yang.

So ha.

They were barely into the afternoon, but Ruby had already decided this was one of the best days of her life. It was fun, had mystery and all her family were fine.

"I'm going to call your fox form Fluffy."

"Really." Mercury sounded more resigned than anything else.

"Really?" Emerald asked much more merrily as they stepped back out into the sunshine, now on their way to their main objective.

"Yep."

"It's not that bad Merc," Yang stretched. "There are worse things to be named after than a huge three headed dog."

Ruby scowled at her, but Merc smiled. That was not why Ruby had named him Fluffy and they all knew it.

Still, it wasn't like Mercury could tell many people about Hagrid's Fluffy, though Ruby couldn't really tell people about fluffy Fox Mercury either. Most wouldn't believe her and those that did were likely to be enemies.

They came across another pack of Beowolves. There were nine this time.

They didn't last nine seconds.

"Aww…"

Then an Alpha Beowulf came running out of the trees, snarling.

Bouncing on her heels, Ruby zipped straight towards it. In a move she had practiced a thousand times, she spun around like a top.

"Spin, spin, spin, spin, spin!"

Whee!

She skidded to a halt, shaking her head.

Ruby had no idea how many times she had spun, but she didn't feel as dizzy as she normally did when she tried that.

Cool.

Ruby looked back.

The Alpha Beowulf stood strong for a moment. But then its arms dropped off. Its legs collapsed and separated from the body. The head flopped to the ground a good foot away from the rest of it.

"You made that look easy Ruby," Yang grinned with a thumbs up.

"Well, it was easy."

Killing Grimm didn't seem so hard anymore.

The Griffons had been a challenge and Mercury had done most of the work there. Ruby thought she could have done it on her own, but it would have taken a lot longer. She was sure she could have managed the Beringal too, especially as it was only the size of a gorilla rather than the thing that attacked them at Initiation.

That little voice in the back of her mind told her that the Beringal in Initiation was too tough for her alone without some kind of assistance.

Ruby rubbed her eyes, telling that little voice to go away. She just needed a lot of practice against tougher opponents.

This wasn't their official second year mission. Ruby started to think what they should do for it. Last year, they had gone after Mountain Glenn because they knew there was a White Fang operation there. They didn't have anything to worry about this year.

Just before the ruins they were aiming for, there was a bridge. They looked at each other.

"We could just jump," Yang suggested. "This probably takes a while."

"Probably," Mercury agreed. "But what if this is sabotaged too?"

 _Leave it to Mercury to think of the worst case scenario._

"On top of that, the security node for this area is down," Emerald tagged on. "There could be other higher level Grimm nearby."

Ruby was fine with that. "Bridge it is."

Well, there were certainly a lot of Grimm that were attracted to the noise, but nothing very powerful. An Ursa was the highest level, but there were twelve of them. Ruby couldn't count the number of Beowolves and Creeps kept burrowing out of the ground. For once, they were actually dangerous rather than annoying.

This kind of gauntlet reminded Ruby of their last official mission, but she was going to be a little more careful than she had been then. That job was supposed to be for second years but this one was going to be for first years.

Maybe Professor Ozpin didn't realise how many Grimm there were. Ruby didn't think there were supposed to be this many and there definitely wasn't supposed to be Griffons and Beringals here.

Ruby still mostly worked on autopilot.

She had a feeling the others were doing the same.

It was fun though. Every time before, they separated into their own mini-fights. They didn't tend to get involved with someone else's fight. This time though, they piggy-backed off each other's moves. Just like they had practiced for the Vytal Festival.

Most of the Grimm died in one hit.

A few were lucky in that they didn't get hit directly so they lasted a few seconds longer. But then they would get hit by someone else and they didn't survive that.

"That counts as mine Mercury."

"Oh please. I killed it fair and square."

The only issue was going to be the points game they were having.

"How many Ruby?" Emerald asked, choosing to ignore the two main troublemakers for now.

"I'm on 53." A blast from Crescent Rose. "Make that 54. You?"

"45." The bridge had fully extended now, but the family were having far too much fun to pay it any attention. "Enjoying the day so far?"

"Sure. Any ideas for what you want for our proper second year mission?" Ruby was leaning towards a mission away from Vale. Maybe away from the continent. It would be cool to see what other areas of the world were like.

"I don't mind. The first thing we need to decide is if we only want to kill Grimm or if we want to do something else."

Ruby hummed. "It is fun, but I think we need something a little more challenging."

"How about we finish up today before deciding that? I've got the feeling we've got quite a while to go."

Ruby let out a scoff. "Oh please. We're almost done." Emerald just gave her a look. "What? It's not like we're going to find out who sabotaged the nodes."

"Well, they did leave their signature or something behind. Maybe we will."

They both instantly stopped in sync.

Ruby frowned. She looked around and suddenly realised they had run out of Grimm to kill. "Oh."

"Still too many though," Mercury commented as he and Yang joined them. "Especially if they only moved in when the nodes went down and that wasn't that long ago."

"Along with the Griffons and Beringal," Yang added on. "Odd that there are no Death Stalkers though."

"Or Nevermores."

That hadn't occurred to Ruby. She shrugged. "Maybe we just haven't seen them." The Emerald Forest was _huge_ after all.

Mercury shrugged in acceptance. "Not much farther now."

It wasn't far and the only Grimm that kept following them were Creeps. Annoyingly, they were more interested in playing 'Whack-a-Grimm' than actually attacking. It was normally the other way around and the annoyance was due to how easy they were to kill.

The second and final security node was in the middle of a wide platform like thing. Ruby dashed around it and saw that odd box on it that had been on the other one.

"We got another one."

Then Ruby caught sight of a big cube like thing nearby. She approached to have a closer look. It almost looked like… "Is this a cage?" Not one she had seen, but it looked like one. It was easily big enough for her to fit in.

Mercury walked around it. "Yeah. Interesting." He had something in mind. Then he shrugged. "Right. I'll take a look. Don't see any Grimm around, so you're going to have to entertain yourselves." He walked over to the node and pulled the odd box off without a care.

After another look around, Ruby still didn't see any Grimm. So she began to circle the cage. There weren't any animals around that Ruby knew of, so this must be to catch Grimm.

But why would someone want to catch Grimm?

Ruby poked it.

The open wall snapped shut.

"Wasn't me!" That was an automatic reaction.

Yang appeared by her side instantly. "No harm by the look of it Ruby."

"But why is it here?"

Mercury's scroll went off. Without looking up from whatever he was doing, he tossed it to Emerald.

"Emerald. How goes the hunt?"

"Grimm slaying is fine. But there are cages here with the same symbol. You could easily fit an Ursa Major in them."

"Very worrying. The symbol is from Merlot Industries." The trio standing around exchanged blank looks. "It's a little before your time. It was thought to have collapsed with Mountain Glenn."

"Physically or economically?" Mercury asked as he stood up. Apparently he was done. "What kind of company was it?"

"Both. It was a research and development company. At one point, their research into androids rivalled Atlas."

"Mountain Glenn and Grimm capture cages…They had a good reason for wanting androids." He grinned. "Anyone up for a trip to Mountain Glenn?"

"That's pretty far," Emerald commented. The huge Grimm aura Guardian appeared. "You're sure about that?"

"It's not going to drop _us._ Maybe a few people I don't like, but it likes us."

Ruby studied it, thinking. Then she matched his grin. "I'm up for it. Can I try something?"

Emerald and Yang exchanged nervous glances.

Mercury's eyes sparkled.

* * *

Despite their extermination last year, Mountain Glenn was just as infested with Grimm as it had been before.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Mercury chuckled. He didn't think Yang's face could go that green.

Ruby's idea had been crazy. Her logic was that the Guardian Form was created from Mercury's aura, which was connected to his soul, which was connected to Emerald's and Ruby's. Therefore, Ruby's Semblance should work with it as that worked off her aura, which was connected to her soul, which was connected to Mercury's and Emerald's.

What had amazed Mercury was that she was apparently right.

The Grimm aura dragon had taken on some red streaks and had sped off at a pace Mercury couldn't manage on his own. However, as he was the one controlling it and not Ruby (for some bizarre reason), he had tried to keep it straight and within the sound barrier. Mostly failed the first but did manage the second with some effort.

Being a little more used to getting thrown around, Emerald didn't look as bad. She still seemed a little dizzy, but she managed to stay on her feet at least.

Her original words to Ruby's idea when she heard it: "So utterly ridiculous that, with our luck, is probably and annoyingly going to work."

She wasn't wrong.

But it was very convenient to get around Remnant quickly.

"You okay Em?" Mercury asked, trying to keep the laughter out of his voice.

Emerald straightened, stretched as if she had just taken a bus ride, gave him the middle finger and strolled towards the poor Boarbatusk saps that were going to bear the brunt of her annoyance.

"Can we do that again?" Ruby asked him with a grin.

Mercury looked at her, looked at Yang who was only now returning back to normal colour, looked at Emerald who was slicing Grimm as if they were cheese and looked back at Ruby.

Her smile faded and she pouted. "I didn't mean right now."

Mercury chuckled, shaking his head slightly. Ruby then gave him a hug for some reason and joined Yang for some Grimm slaying fun.

They could kill Grimm until the current Ozpin and the next one died of old age; they would just keep coming back here. Still, it would keep Emerald's anger off him for a while so Mercury wasn't going to bring it up.

There had been a website that had a very good map of Mountain Glenn with annotations for when it was still functional for 'historic purposes'. Mountain Glenn's rubbish connection didn't let him get that far and while he had had a brief look before they flew here, he had known that some buildings weren't here anymore. Not very useful when trying to find one in particular.

 _One bar...Not enough for an internet search but should be okay for a voice only call._

Even then, that signal could drop at any point.

 _You would think the amount of times they send students out here, they would get that sorted._

It didn't matter. There would be enough provided they didn't go underground.

While Mercury was calling Port, he was hoping to speak to Oobleck. Port obviously had the same idea as it wasn't him that picked up. Oobleck sounded very excited and a little relieved, which was not much of a surprise when Mercury cared to think on it.

"Remedy. Good. I was worried there had been a problem with…the trip."

Give the damage the other aura Grimm dragon had done, Mercury was surprised he wasn't getting a scolding. "None whatsoever." Emerald and Yang's complaints not included. "We're where the airship dropped us off last year. Where's Merlot Industries from here?"

"You wouldn't know Mercury, but there have been some earthquake like activity near and in Mountain Glenn since then. I'll sent the coordinates to your scroll and you can decide how to proceed from there."

Earthquake activity?

There had been a random hole in the road that Ruby fell into or it collapsed under her, but that had been a year ago and an isolated incident. During his brief search for her, he hadn't seen any others so it was likely the only one. If there had been multiple earthquake like activity somewhat recently…

"Dr Oobleck, we're going underground for a while. We'll call once we're out or if something comes up. Maybe." If that activity had been numerous and recent, there could be an external event or person causing it.

"…Very well. Be careful Mercury."

"We will." He hung up.

Cinder and the White Fang had been seen in Forever Fall. However, he knew that Cinder had an affinity for Grimm just like he did now. He personally believed that was because of Salem, not Cinder herself. Either way, someone working for Salem wouldn't need Grimm capture cages. They would just be ordered and they would obey.

So this was someone else entirely.

Or it could be Watts, who Salem had referred to as 'Doctor' though not what kind. He was certainly loyal to Salem, but him almost studying that creepy jellyfish thing…

Mercury didn't mind the Grimm he knew of. What he _did_ mind was that jellyfish thing. It was the only one he wouldn't even try to influence out of curiosity and would destroy on sight.

 _Glad I never went anywhere near it…_

Would Watts capture some Grimm to study them? Or was it only that one he was interested in?

Thinking a little more on it, Mercury took Watts off the 'maybe list' onto the 'technically possible but ridiculously unlikely list'. Watts had worked for Atlas, not Merlot Industries. They were in two completely different continents.

Qrow had been remarkably annoyed to learn more about Watts from Mercury, who had been told of it by Zephyr during his imprisonment, than Ironwood who still had documents with Watts' signature. When it came to seeing the big picture, Ironwood was hopeless.

Now that he knew about the big picture, Mercury knew exactly how _absurd_ it was thinking that Salem would be afraid of toy robots and at the time, Ironwood had known about her and Mercury hadn't. He had been the only one in the room that hadn't. It made their first argument at the Vytal Festival even more ridiculous.

The girls were done with the ones in this area. They took that moment to reload.

"Girls, there's apparently been some earthquakes or something around here recently so it might be best to go underground for a while."

Ruby and Yang sighed in unison.

Emerald raised an eyebrow. "An innocent explanation?"

Mercury shrugged. "Mountain Glenn wasn't known for earthquakes before the previous months." Which might be why Ozpin was reluctant to decide who to send to investigate. Probably Oobleck himself.

In unison, Ruby and Yang turned to Emerald. She was quiet as she thought.

As a Maiden, Emerald would be able to sense an earthquake before it hit. How much before depended on how much attention she was paying. But if this wasn't an earthquake…

"Everyone does have flashlights, right?"

Mercury just shook his head. "Emerald, you should know better than to rely on a Faunus to bring the flashlight."

"We could use our scrolls," Yang offered.

"That flashlight app drains the battery too fast and we might need them later." Emerald rolled her eyes. "Next time, we're bringing a bag full of supplies. Including a flashlight. Still, you can rely on a Maiden to bring the fire."

Mercury frowned a little, but didn't say anything. He didn't agree with her showing her powers, even if they already suspected her. Mercury was quite sure there was enough reasonable doubt to make them not know for _sure_ and that could make a big difference.

 _Though if it's the Relic of Knowledge in Haven during the Vytal Festival with Headmaster Lionheart as the mole…_

He was getting a headache.

Emerald gave him a brief smile and hopped into a nearby hole before anyone could say anything.

Ruby hesitated only a second before following her.

Yang waited longer. She waved him over and, when he obeyed, put her hand on his arm. [Did she ever talk about being so…obvious since becoming a full Maiden?]

[No. I kind of hoped you had talked with her while I was recovering. We talked about other things connected to Maidens but I didn't think she'd do this.] Emerald was usually so careful.

Yang closed her eyes.

Maidens had an essence of previous Maidens; it came with the power. Was this due to something from Cinder or was Emerald _that_ fed up of being afraid that she had just decided 'screw it'?

He wanted to believe it was the latter.

If he was right, it didn't matter if they found out for sure. Either way, they would investigate when they arrived at Haven next year. So right now, he wasn't going to say anything.

"Mercury. Get down here."

"Quickly."

Yang and Mercury exchanged a glance that said 'what could have happened in five seconds?'

With their luck, a lot.

Mercury dropped down, ready for battle.

What he hadn't been expecting was a Creep with a green back to suddenly explode. The greenish goo then soaked into the ground in an instant, before the Grimm had a chance to disappear.

"Well. That was certainly different." And fascinating.

Salem hadn't done that to her Grimm.

"Yeah," Ruby mused. "I wonder if there are any others."

In the darkness, beyond the sunlight spraying in, Mercury could make out another odd Grimm. This one was different and almost certainly more of a fight. There was a lot more green and it almost seemed bigger than the original. It hadn't seen them yet and oddly enough, hadn't been attracted by the bizarre Grimm exploding.

"I see another one, but it's an Alpha Beowulf. Or it was at one point."

Yang folded her arms. "They weren't here before. Think we should follow their trail?"

"It's in the direction we planned to go." Maybe the odd Creeps were the reason for the earthquake like activity.

They were a lot more cautious this time. This wasn't an ordinary Grimm and if the bizarre cannon fodder exploded and could cause a lot of damage, what could a bizarre Alpha Beowulf do?

"Let's get it over here," Emerald stated. "I don't fancy fighting something that unknown in the dark."

That…was a fair point. Mercury would have no trouble, but they would. Unlike last time, these tunnels didn't have lighting that worked. The White Fang must have fixed the ones on the train tracks.

Ruby spun and implanted Crescent Rose into the ground. Her sniper rifle echoed throughout the tunnels.

It certainly got the weird Grimm's attention. It aggravated it, but didn't seem to damage it at all. With a roar that sounded exactly like the original, it charged.

Mercury ran to match it.

It pounced from a very impressive distance away.

Mercury jumped higher, stomped his boot on its head, delivered a point blank range Dust round straight into its skull and landed easily.

It crashed into the floor.

Then got up, shook its head and roared at him again.

 _Okay. Definitely more durable than normal Alpha Beowolves._

It turned back to the girls. Mercury expected that.

What he didn't expect was it to raise its arms, pound them into the ground and…

 _That's impressive._

Pillars spiked out of the ground at a remarkable speed, heading straight for the girls. They were different heights, but easily taller than him. The path was completely straight; maybe it couldn't curve. The pikes also stopped appearing when its arms were removed from the ground. Could it still bite in that stance?

It might have been a shock, but instinct kicked in before their brains needed to register. They managed to dodge out of the way before it hit.

"What was _that_?!" Yang yelled.

"They have a few tricks up their sleeves," Mercury noted with a small smile. If that was what a mutated Alpha Beowulf could do, what could the mutated Ursa Major and higher do? Then he noticed something. "There's another one down there. I got it."

The others would really struggle to see this deep in without Emerald's flame.

Mercury didn't have that problem.

 _This will be fun. Let's see how durable that thing really is._

Something interesting that Mercury noted right away was that these bizarre Grimm didn't play well with others. Normally something the level of an Alpha Beowulf could form strategies with other Grimm, such as using younger Beowolves as buffer and the Creeps employing hit and run tactics with it picking up the pieces.

These mutated Grimm didn't do that.

It could certainly think and strategize, such as predicting where he was going to land and aiming a row of spikes to that location. But it wasn't cooperating with the other Grimm at all, normal or weird. Mercury could think of loads of strategies, but this was an individual attacker only; not a team player at all.

 _Come to think of it, that sums up the main two 'sides' well. Ozpin's side (normally) works together and while there may be disagreements, one picks up the slack if another fails. Salem's group cooperate, but they aren't united. It's multiple single units only in it for their own agenda and would never work together if they didn't have Salem._

 _…_

 _If Salem was removed from the equation…_

There would always be monsters in people. That was how it was and that was what Ruby just couldn't grasp. Though to be fair, there would always be heroes in people and that was what Mercury couldn't understand. They had agreed to disagree long ago.

 _But there was no way Cinder and Watts would work with each other if Salem didn't make them. Tyrian himself…_

There would always be monsters, but they would be unfocused. Most of the legends would fade and stay legends. A large rabble wasn't as big of a problem as a small but organised group.

This thing was remarkably durable. It actually outclassed Ursa Major. It took a full minute for Mercury to take it down using only the basics.

The first one was still fighting the girls, though Emerald wasn't using Maiden power now for whatever reason.

After another minute, Yang gave up and allowed her Semblance to trigger. And then it still took twenty seconds to take down.

"That…was…awesome…" Typical Ruby.

"A damage sponge," Mercury decided. "Doesn't hit too much harder than an Alpha Beowulf though it has more variety. But the amount of damage it can take before it goes down is incredible."

Emerald came towards him. She stepped into the darkness without a care and didn't even try to create a flame to light her way. In fact, Mercury could see her eyes were closed.

She never made a wrong step. She walked straight up to him, reached out and gently rubbed his arm. His other arm went around her waist, pulling her a little closer. His little affiliation with Grimm didn't really work with them in groups and/or with other people around. He hadn't tested it yet, but he would get a lot of chances later. For now, keeping her close gave him a better view of past her.

[Mercury, are you sure you're up for this? You know we're not turning back now and there could be more.]

[There will be more.] Mercury was sure of that. He could make out one of the weird Creeps down another tunnel. [I'll be fine. I'm looking forward to this.]

[What if something goes wrong?]

[It won't. This is someone on their own. Nothing to do with Cinder or who she worked with.]

[That doesn't mean it's not dangerous.]

[Wouldn't be any fun otherwise.]

Emerald shook her head with a smile. Only then did she create a flame in her hand. When there was light to see, she opened her eyes. Mercury just blinked his to get used to the difference.

Like moths to a flame, Ruby and Yang immediately joined them.

"Everything okay?" Ruby asked, tilting her head a little.

"Just fine," Mercury responded. He pointed. "There are more that way. But it's not the way we planned to go."

"It might be the way we need to go though." Yang punched her fists together. "I say we follow them."

"Of course you do," Emerald rolled her eyes. "This time, I happen to agree. We didn't see anything off about the buildings last year and I think that whatever Merlot Industries are up takes longer than a year."

Mercury could agree with that.

"Then it's decided," Ruby nodded.

"Great. Dibs on the green Beowulf." With that, Yang took off.

Mercury rolled his eyes. "Go help her out Em. I'll play catch me if you can with the green Creeps."

"They explode after they go underground and if you kill them."

"I'll keep that in mind." The problem was the exploding; they could accidentally take out the supports of this particular cave. He needed to lure them away from the key pillars.

These things were _atrocious_ at taking hits. In fact, Mercury thought these were even worse than the weakest Creeps.

The first two were no trouble. The others were closer to the girls, but far enough away to be spared the explosion. He could use the Dust rounds in his boots, but he wasn't made of money and his infinite supply of Dust was in his new handheld weapon.

So that's what he used.

The main 'handle' had a gun built into it and, due to where the Dust crystal was, this still worked even if the weapon was divided into two. That was his long range and he liked it a lot. It was definitely worth the four months it took to do.

Unfortunately, these things took long range hits even worse than they did physical hits.

Mercury backflipped back to put enough distance from one that had tunnelled up less than an inch in front of him.

 _This might be a little trickier than I thought._

These things ignored him, but wouldn't come closer when he tried to will them. He couldn't attack them long range because they just exploded and he was trying to avoid that where they were. Close range had the same main problem.

That left one solution.

Rather than an aura blade, Mercury decided to use the Dust crystal. He normally used ice or electricity long range, but he was more varied short range. Green Dust was nice when you wanted a whip like weapon. He was still working on using yellow Dust for that and that always had collateral damage whenever he tried.

The green Creeps immediately started to shake when the whip wrapped around them, but the few seconds it took gave him time to pull them to a better location. As it was using Dust and only required his aura (barely) to trigger it but not hold it, he didn't take any damage from said explosion.

Blake's technique had been easy to see, but difficult in practice. There was no doubting how effective it was and Marcus had given him some training with that kind of weapon, but not even as much as he had with a sword.

 _Which wasn't much help seeing as the aura blade has no weight._

It was quite fun to swing one green Creep into another or into a pack of whatever kind of Grimm happened to be together.

There were a lot of green Creeps. There was another green Alpha Beowulf heading this way from another tunnel. Was that one attracted by the noise when the last one ignored it?

A fireball smashed into it as it raised its arms to do that spike track.

It crashed through a wall.

"Emerald, I'm trying not to bring the place down around us."

"My hand slipped." She did not sound remorseful in the slightest.

Mercury swung one of the exploding Creeps onto the sponge Beowulf. It still got up afterwards. Three long range red and grey Dust mix shot finally took it out and, luckily, the little grenade like effect wasn't very wide. It only took out the rest of the wall Emerald had already half destroyed.

 _Smaller than the other times. Should experiment with that more._

Mercury hadn't really enjoyed Mountain Glenn the first time around. This time he was having a lot more fun. He had a new toy to try out (which Ruby very quickly saw and started to ask every question in existence starting with its name), these 'new' Grimm weren't ignoring him and it wasn't a one shot wonder on everything.

This was a Huntsman mission he would have signed up for.

Following the Grimm for absolutely ages opened up into…Forever Fall?

"Seriously?" Emerald asked. "Since _when_ was Mountain Glenn connected to Forever Fall?"

Forever Fall normally needed an airship to get to, but the two places were very far apart. They might have travelled quite far and the tunnel directions did match the geography, but still.

"I thought the tunnels stopped at Vale City," Ruby frowned. "I mean, that was what Cinder wanted, right?"

"Well, the last tracks we followed weren't train tracks," Mercury pointed out. They had been far too small for that. "But maybe the tunnels we went through were unexplored. I didn't see any lights at all and I'm sure they were dug at a different time." Using the word 'dug' very lightly.

The others probably hadn't seen it as Emerald's flame hadn't reached the walls, but Mercury had seen the obvious difference. Not only had those tunnels been thinner, the damage to the walls suggested that it had been done by bombs rather than tools. They were new, but he didn't know how new.

There was yet another bizarre Alpha Beowulf waiting for them.

"You know, these are getting very common when you think about it," Mercury noted idly.

"Hardly," Yang scoffed. "How many have we run into?"

"Twelve."

"…Okay, you might have a point."

This one was in the sunlight, so Mercury reached for his scroll for a picture. Even with flash, the pictures taken underground were terrible. A weird oversized Creep came bouncing from the trees nearby.

Yang patiently waited for him to take the photo, nodded in approval and then leapt into battle.

Mercury stretched and joined her.

 _So hard to find a good fight these days._

* * *

The stroll through Forever Fall wasn't that different from their stroll through Mountain Glenn. The only difference was that it was much easier to see in the daylight.

Yang had learned the patterns of their attacks by now so they were easy to avoid. That didn't help with the amount of punishment they could take, but at least it wasn't as tough a challenge as they used to be.

She was wondering where they came from.

This time, she and Mercury were hanging back. They had killed plenty and Ruby wanted to take one on her own. Emerald had then stated the same of a second that had arrived.

While Yang wasn't worried about them, these battles were going to take quite a while. Emerald had decided not to use Maiden power, so she would take a while too.

Honestly, Yang was a little worried about Emerald.

"Where's the popcorn when you need it?" Mercury asked.

"You can go fetch some and be back before they're done." That Guardian Form made it very easy to get around.

"Ruin the feeling."

Yang couldn't argue with that. That was the main reason they weren't just breezing through these things with it. After all, how were they supposed to learn when they cheated? It wasn't like they were in any rush.

[So what do you think?]

[About?]

[Salem.]

He just raised an eyebrow to that, but he wasn't too surprised she knew. [Not involved.]

That was a relief. It was also exactly what they needed. [So what do you think? Someone from Merlot Industries?]

[Most likely but that doesn't explain the change in Grimm. I'm sure it wasn't Salem who did that, so it was probably science and not magic.]

Mercury's scroll began to ring. With a groan, he grabbed it from his belt. "It's Oobleck."

"Well, it has been hours since we last called him."

"So I have to answer?"

"Think of it as practice for when you're on a job and we call you."

Mercury gave her an odd look then. He hit the button.

"Students. Report in."

Yang gave him a very firm stare. He got the message.

"We went underground at Mountain Glenn but we found some…unusual Grimm. Rather than our original objective, we followed their trail and have come out in Forever Fall. There are still some in the area, so we're tracking them."

"Forever Fall? The tunnels in Mountain Glenn don't connect to Forever Fall. That is a very worrying development."

"Mercury did say the tunnels looked different than the normal ones," Yang chipped in.

"They were certainly newer," Mercury noted. "They didn't look official and they definitely weren't prettily done."

Yang chuckled at that.

"Mercury, not everyone has Taiyang's sense of perfection when it comes to construction." The two of them shared a smile. "So: to surmise. The security nodes were tampered with by someone who placed the symbol of Merlot Industries upon them. That same symbol was found on cages that are thought to be used to capture Grimm. You have encountered what you describe as unusual Grimm and have followed their trail down a tunnel that shouldn't exist."

"That's a good summary."

Mercury offered the scroll to Yang. She took it and the winged fox aura animal appeared. It took a moment for her to catch on, but she didn't think that was cheating provided he stuck to scouting.

The fox flew off.

Yang continued. "Professor-"

"Doctor."

"Doctor, the Grimm we're seeing…" The screen locked. Yang sighed and unlocked it again. She sent the photos off, but Mercury nudged her before she went back through the album further. Git. He had some great photos saved. "They're bigger, stronger and can do things animals and Grimm shouldn't be able to do."

"Putting it mildly," Mercury murmured, his eyes still closed. Then he opened them with a grin. "We'll have to get back to you Doctor. We're going on a trip." He took his scroll back and hit the end button.

Yang matched his grin. "Find something good?"

"Oh yeah." It was at this point Ruby _finally_ killed her weird Alpha Beowulf. "It's not too far, but I want to be discreet…if you even know the meaning of the word."

"I can be discreet!"

"I'll believe that when I see it."

Emerald had finally brought hers down by catching a green Creep and swinging it into the big guy. "What's this about discreet?"

"There's a huge ship not too much farther. Cargo includes cages with Grimm inside and shipping containers. We need to hurry if we want to catch it and I don't think we want to be seen."

Ruby bounced on her heels. "Well, what are we waiting for?" She dashed off.

"Try to keep up Yang," Mercury dared before he went after her. Without her Semblance, he would overtake her quick enough.

Yang never backed down from a challenge, even when she knew it was a hopeless one.

"How do they do that?" Emerald asked. She sounded almost jealous…but mostly sad.

Yang pushed the emotions away. She had been managing too. "Because they're Ruby and Mercury. They just…look forward for different reasons. That's all we can do. They're just…better at it. Sort of."

"Lucky devils."

"But I'm more worried about you Maia. You've been acting odd all day."

Emerald just folded her arms. She opened her mouth, then swallowed whatever snap response she was going to say. "I'll get over it." Yang just gave her a look. "Dreams last night."

 _Oh._

"Do you want to talk about them?"

Emerald thought about it. She shook her head once. "Don't ask Yang. Not you."

"Dad?"

"Even worse."

"Uncle Qrow?"

"Probably just as bad."

"Is this about my mom?"

"No."

That was said a little too quickly for it to be true.

…

Yang let it go. "Mercury's the one who doesn't get attached easily so him. Yes, he screwed up and no doubt we're going to make Fluffy regret it. Did you know you can dress dogs in clothes?"

That got through to her. Her face went completely blank. "You can't be serious."

"Sure I am. Personally, I think he would look good in pink."

Emerald choked, trying very hard not to laugh. She wasn't doing too well.

"Should we ask Coco for advice?"

"Don't Yang. We had better go before they decide we've been swallowed by a giant marshmallow or something like that."

"…Really?"

"We're too good for Grimm."

Yang decided that she and Ruby had been a very bad influence on Emerald. "The day we're having, I wouldn't be surprised if we did come across a giant marshmallow." In fact, maybe it would be life mission to see one in a ridiculous context.

Ruby and Mercury had waited for them behind a blue crate. They didn't say anything. Ruby put a finger to her lips and pointed to an empty crate near the crane that was loading the ship. Yang couldn't see any people, but she agreed with the sneaking.

But she did stick her tongue out at Mercury.

[Behave,] Emerald nudged her.

Ruby nodded firmly. [I'll tell Zwei on you.]

[Why am I the bad guy here? He started it.] And this time, he actually had.

Yang very nearly lost her footing. It felt like the very container was trying to get rid of them. Ruby wedged herself between Mercury and Emerald. Those two had crouched down a little and Yang quickly followed their example. That stabilised her a lot and the floor didn't tilt any more. A thud and they were on the ship.

Ruby went to leave. Emerald caught her and shook her head.

Yang glanced at her. [Until we're moving or until we land?]

[Until we land.]

If this was going to be a long trip, it was also going to be a boring trip. Yang was bored already and the ship hadn't even left yet.

[Fancy a game of I spy?] Mercury asked with a really annoying smirk.

[Better than Grandma's Footsteps.] At the moment, Emerald's heels and Mercury's metal boots weren't making any noise on the metal floor. That would attract attention.

[Name a film I've seen.]

[Why?] Emerald folded her arms.

[Do you know a better way to pass the time? I can play memories though my aura, so I can play a film. So name one I've seen. I'll keep an eye out.]

Honestly, Yang had forgotten Mercury could do that.

Still, it took until the ship took off for the girls to agree on something. It had better be a long trip because it didn't get good until halfway in and Mercury refused to fast forward it. Unreasonable brat.


	22. Overwhelming Power and Strategy

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Emerald didn't like the island the second she stepped on it.

She didn't know how long it had taken to get here, but they had gotten through two films and halfway through a third. She had no idea how fast the ship was travelling though, so she had no idea how far they had gone. Somehow, she didn't feel it was as far as she thought.

"Dr Oobleck…?" All Ruby was getting was static.

"No map," Mercury noted. "But the scroll's getting signal from somewhere. There must be something here, if not someone."

"So let's get going. I can only hear the sea on the other side of this rock wall, so that way it is." After a step, Ruby glanced back at Mercury. "Do you want to scout ahead?"

"I'd rather not tip my hand too soon if whoever is here doesn't know."

No shifting into Fluffy either then.

Only then did it occur to Emerald that it would be very difficult to dress up Fluffy as Mercury had shown he could use his Semblance in that form too. That was irritating.

"Same here," Emerald agreed.

This island was very eerie.

The ship behind them wasn't moving and no one was in the area. Emerald closed her eyes and focused, but she couldn't sense _anything._ Save for the four of them, there was no life. No Grimm, no plant and no human.

There were a lot of radio waves in the air.

 _Not like the Atlesian Knights, but not too different. Robots maybe?_

Maidens couldn't directly sense robots but there were signs and Emerald was sure that's what these were. Port had said Merlot Industries worked with androids.

She opened her eyes. "Think they'll have androids here?"

"Wouldn't mind it," Mercury noted. "Something about this place feels very wrong."

"You've no idea."

No androids immediately jumped them. Only a few feet along the cliff, it began to level out enough to see a huge metal tower that was most likely a radio tower. That view made them stop and think a little more.

"If our calls are being jammed and it's not some miraculous bug, that's probably the problem." Mercury made no move forward though.

Yang wasn't too worried. "Easy enough to climb to see if it's the only one. If it is, we'll just smash it."

"And get sued for the damage if this does turn out to be legitimate? Not everyone takes millions of lien of damage like your friend Junior does."

 _What are they talking about?_

"This hardly looks legitimate."

"We can't prove that yet."

"Let's have a closer look," Ruby decided. "Then we'll go from there."

There was still nothing dangerous around. The only thing they came across were gates that were easy to push open and those same crates and cages they had seen on the mainland. They were certainly in the right place and with no Grimm here, someone would need to capture them from elsewhere.

 _But why would anyone want to do that? How do the green spiked Grimm fit in?_

On a console at the base of the tower, there was a box not unlike what was on the security nodes. The four shared a very confused look (who sabotages their own tower?) before Mercury raised an eyebrow and removed it with a sharp tug.

All four scrolls rang instantly.

Emerald checked hers. No user ID and no picture. All four had that. After two rings, three of the scrolls stopped. Ruby's kept ringing.

She answered, but not the video feed. "Umm…Hello?"

A completely new voice responded. "Much better. Thank you for that. I had almost forgotten that was there."

"You don't get many visitors, do you," Mercury stated.

"No. I would say you were in the first in…forever."

 _So no one knows you're here._

"Do we get a name? Or can we give you one?"

Emerald smiled a little at Yang's evil grin.

"Oh, where are my manners? I am Dr Merlot. Are you students?"

Mercury's scroll went off again. He checked it and shrugged. "Sure. Why not?" He pressed the screen. Of course, he put his on speaker too.

"What have you gotten into now Remedy?"

Ozpin.

Not who Emerald was expecting.

Who sounded more exasperated than angry or worried.

 _To be fair, it does tend to be us, doesn't it? This time, we weren't even looking for trouble. This must be what Harry constantly felt like._

"Ah. Beacon students. How exciting. How have you been these days Oz?" Dr Merlot sounded way too peppy.

Emerald couldn't wait to shut him up.

"Dr Merlot. It was thought you had perished in the Mountain Glenn disaster."

"Have a little more respect Oz. You of all people should know my capabilities."

"Are those weird Grimm because of you?" Mercury interrupted.

"Young man, did no one ever teach you it is bad manners to interrupt your elders? The adults are talking."

"It's _my_ scroll data you're chatting on. I can just switch him off."

Dr Merlot chuckled. "Of course you wouldn't."

"He would," Ozpin confirmed. "I must say Dr Merlot, I am not surprised to find you are experimenting with Grimm. What I am curious of is how much of the Mountain Glenn disaster you were personally responsible for?"

Mercury and Emerald exchanged a look.

"I needed subjects with which to conduct my research. Where else was I supposed to get them?"

"I can think of somewhere," Mercury interrupted again. Emerald could think of a few, but Mountain Glenn was the main one that popped to mind. "How many human or Faunus staff do you have?"

An interesting question. They knew they were fighting Grimm. It was very likely he had androids, especially if he had few staff. But how many staff did he have?

"Quite the inquisitive child you have there Ozpin. He has potential. I can't wait to test how much."

"They are far more than anything you can throw at them," Ozpin replied firmly.

"What kind of test?" Yang asked rather eagerly. "We've been on this island for a whole ten minutes and we haven't had a welcoming committee."

"And if it doesn't _at least_ match the fourteen mutated Alpha Beowolves I am going to be very disappointed," Mercury tagged on.

Emerald face palmed.

Ruby patted her shoulder with a gentle smile. [We're here to bail them out if they get into trouble.]

[Someone has to be sensible.] Even so, it was in jest. [Besides, they're losing.]

[They went for the big guys and not the cannon fodder. That's why we're beating them.]

Emerald shook her head with a smile.

They were still at the radio tower. Emerald focused, but she couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary. She moved away to a little beach and sat down. She closed her eyes and breathed. She could feel the others' eyes on her, but they gave her space.

"No need to worry about that," Dr Merlot assured. "I like to make my guests feel very welcome."

Emerald's dream last night…

"Well, it's late. You need to have them replaced." Yang tried to sound disappointed but was failing badly.

The dream had been a day in the life of someone else. A different Spring Maiden. She had been married; had two kids. The elder and younger had spent the entire morning playing football in the front garden of their house in their cul de sac.

"If you want, we can make a house visit," Mercury suggested.

Nothing important had happened in the dream. The kids played outside while Spring had had a morning with her husband. In the evening, they had visited a neighbours who was having a barbecue, including a younger cousin they were close to and babysat often. She put the children to bed and the husband read them a bedtime story. So…simple and unremarkable.

"Why, that would be lovely. My lab isn't far and I can give you a far more deserving welcome there. See you soon, students." He hung up.

Emerald ran the sand through her fingers, eyes still closed.

"Perhaps Remedy, you need more discussion on caution." Ozpin hadn't hung up yet. "Would it be wise for you to retreat? You have been fighting all day."

 _Hmm._

"We can handle it Professor," Ruby replied with conviction. "We've been careful and we're still raring to go."

The sand began to shift.

"Mercury?"

"I'm fine. No problems whatsoever and I've tried a few new things."

"Very well, if you're so sure. I'm still pinpointing exactly where you are but that won't take long. An airship will pick you up."

It was sunset now. It would be dark in half an hour.

"Stowing away on the ship is what took the time. I don't think the island's that big, so we won't be long."

"Even so, I would like you to keep the line open. Dr Merlot was once a common guest lecturer at Beacon before he returned to Mountain Glenn to continue his research full time. He is very dangerous."

The Spring Maiden before Krystal Umi had been her mother. Krystal had never known before her death. The mother, Sky, had died the year before Krystal started Haven. She had run away when she learned why Sky had died and had taken shelter in Raven Branwen's tribe. The brother was lost to the foster system and died in a Grimm attack. Krystal had begun to see the tribe as her home and Raven herself…

"We'll keep that in mind."

Emerald opened her eyes.

It looked beautiful. The wood had been buried deep; removed from the earth years ago. It had been easy to rejuvenate and shape. Glass, perhaps washed up from the sea in litter, had set within. There was no reason for the clay to be there, but it had been buried even deeper than the wood. The clay held it together, but was fractured and damaged. Sand and glass had filled those. Wood surrounded the clay, both outside and within.

The shape reminded Emerald of a bird wing or perhaps a tear drop.

[I don't know what that is.] Mercury sat down next to her, his hand over hers. [I recognise it's some sort of instrument and those are holes like in a flute, but I don't know what it is.]

Emerald wasn't sure either. [It's not done yet.]

But that was for another day.

Mercury frowned at her and looked back at it. He thought it looked finished.

"Let's go." Emerald picked it up and gave it to Mercury, who dutifully put it in his backpack. He had only brought it in case he needed to bring something back, which she was now grateful for. "Any idea which way?"

"We came from that way," he pointed. "And that way leads to the sea. That's the only way that heads inland."

"That way it is then."

As it happened, Mercury had put Ozpin on speaker, but he hadn't given him video feed. As such, with the man so quiet, it was very easy to forget he could hear most of the words if they spoke loud enough.

They didn't really care.

Mercury had climbed the tower and hadn't seen anything dangerous, so while they were ready for battle, they were quite relaxed.

Ruby started humming. It took Emerald a moment to place it and she immediately tried to shut it out. It was one of those tunes that you never got out of your head.

Mercury groaned. "Please don't get that stuck in my head."

"Well I can't help it."

Yang then started humming it.

Mercury closed his eyes painfully. Then he looked at Emerald. "Help?"

She chuckled, but did help him. Her Semblance reached out and made him deaf to the song. He gave her a very grateful smile. Emerald didn't blame him.

The four stopped in unison.

"That's goo. Bright. Blue. Goo."

There was nothing to add to Ruby's statement.

"Let's just go on the pipes and not touch it," Emerald stated simply. "We don't have anything to collect a sample in."

"That's not entirely true," Mercury replied. "I've got some bottles of water, but I'm not sure I want to try it with _that_."

"It's not bubbling," Ruby pointed out.

"Doesn't mean anything."

Yang tossed a rock into it. It began to dissolve. "It's bubbling now."

"Okay," Ruby almost sang. "Go around."

Over the pipes was the only planned way down. There wasn't a path to the front door of what obviously was a huge shutter door. The ground was soil, but had craters and holes that suggested constant damage.

"I'm still waiting on this welcoming committee," Emerald stated, crossing her arms. The lack of life was bothering her greatly and she wanted to vent that on _something._ There wasn't even a blade of grass.

Mercury put an arm around her and gently tugged her closer. Yang stepped to her a little and rubbed her back slowly. Emerald didn't know if they knew what was bothering her, but she was grateful for the attention all the same.

Ruby smiled at her. She then turned and leapt into one of the craters, scythe raised and ready for action.

Nothing happened.

Ruby groaned. "Oh, come on!"

Yang sniggered. "Well, how do we want to do it? Knock or smash it down?"

It was at that point the shutter began to raise.

Mercury rolled his eyes. "Of course." Then his smile grew. "But at least we have company."

That was the best news Emerald had heard all day.

There weren't any mutated Grimm. That disappointed her, but at least they didn't have to be careful of the thing exploding in an inconvenient place. Another disappointment was that the most powerful Grimm was an Ursa, not even an Ursa Major. There were thirty, maybe forty of them.

However, there were humanoid robots. The white ones didn't look too different from the Atlesian Knights General Ironwood brought to Vale, except they were bulkier. They were almost _too_ similar. The red ones were very different; they were far sleeker and their armour appeared less thick.

"Not sure this is good enough," Yang commented.

"Easy there Artemis," Mercury chuckled. "We don't know what the androids can do. That's a long spear and that gun looks interesting. Let's smash them before we review them."

"I'm okay with that, but I warn you: I'm a harsh critic."

"Especially when it comes to bikes," Emerald tagged on.

"Exactly." Yang leapt down just under the little shelf they were standing on. She then glanced at Mercury as he joined her. "Seen any good models recently?"

"No." He straightened and stretched before waiting for the Beowulf out front to meet him. "The newer ones are great for speed, but have no stabilisation and burn through the engine far too fast. And don't get me started on the quality of tires people put on those things."

"Let me guess…" Yang smashed an Ursa back with a punch. "They come for a tire problem and are surprised to learn how easy it is to burn rubber?"

"And it's only when they return the third time in a month that they realise how expensive it is."

"Idiots."

Emerald sighed with a soft smile. She studied the area, but no one required help. Mercury and Yang got too close for the android to use its long spear, but it was far faster than Emerald had thought. Ruby had been drawn to the Grimm and years of experience were evident there. The white androids though…

Those had been programmed well. They had guns and were staying at a distance. They used grenade launchers when the enemy was almost alone and a kind of machine gun/shotgun when they had allies near them.

Emerald pounced.

She landed right behind them and aimed for the closest one's neck. The sickle caught in the wires. It took a second swing to decapitate it.

 _That's quite impressive actually. The Atlesian Knights aren't that strong._

The second one turned around swiftly to meet her. To her surprise, it aimed the gun at the ground but it was easy to guess what was going to happen. She backflipped back, quickly figuring out where it was going to land before striking.

As far as she could tell, it had taken no damage from a point blank grenade to the ground. There was a hole, but certainly not a crater like the ones scattered around.

 _That's some grenade. What is in those things?_

No doubt Quicksilver would steal one if they could.

Interestingly enough, the one next to the one she aimed for had also grenade pounded the ground and was a good few feet away.

 _So get too close and it'll bounce back while dealing you damage. That might be trouble if we encounter many more of them._

For the moment though, there was plenty of room. As such, there were few problems.

The white androids had scattered and were a little more of a problem, but they were easier to deal with than the red ones. They were ridiculously fast, didn't get stunned even for a moment and their range was quite a bit farther than obvious physics suggested.

The Grimm weren't worth commenting on, save for being good shields.

Naturally, unlike the Grimm, the androids didn't vanish once they were defeated.

"They were pretty well built," Ruby grinned.

Emerald caught her hood just before her Semblance got away from her. "No dissembling killer robots."

Ruby pouted at her. "But Em-"

"No. You want an assassin, you've got a perfectly good one over there and he would even get rid of the body for you, all free of charge. We have enough spare parts in the garage. No excuses."

"But Em! Please?"

"No."

The wonderful thing about Emerald's Semblance was that she could use it on herself to avoid looking at Ruby's puppy eyes. She very quickly extended that to Yang and Mercury, as they had as little resistance as her.

Just as well as Ruby immediately spun to them.

""No.""

Her shoulders slumped. "Big bunch of meanies."

Emerald hardened her heart, trying not to laugh or give in.

Yang reached out and ruffled her sister's hair. "Nice try Ruby."

Ruby was still playing up the wounded puppy act.

Mercury tried his luck. "You know Athena, if the Alpha Beowolves were on the mainland and obviously considered successes, wouldn't there be more powerful Grimm waiting for us in there?"

That was something Emerald had been deliberately avoiding thinking about, but he probably wasn't wrong.

The thought did cheer Ruby up immensely. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Ruby's scroll rang. She groaned. "Oh, come on!"

That got a chuckle out of all three of them.

Good manners won out and Ruby answered. "Hello?"

"Welcome students. How did you find this welcoming party?"

"Disappointing," Mercury replied. "The robots were better than expected, though to be honest that's not saying much."

"A pity you feel that way. Come on inside. It is a great opportunity for you to experience a working lab in prime condition. Merlot Industries has long held advancement of androids as a priority and their advancement is an excellent boon for-"

Mercury reached over and pressed the end button.

Yang and Emerald suppressed a laugh.

Ruby gave him a _look_.

"What? He talked too much. We would have needed to wait until the end of his speech to get anything interesting and his company's years old. We might have been here hours."

More likely five minutes, but evidently Mercury hadn't been willing to wait that long.

"Well." They all jumped as Merlot's voice came over a speaker. "That was very rude."

Mercury threw a knife in an arc. It sliced off a camera and boomeranged back to him. "Why not just use the tannoy from the beginning?"

"What happened to no property damage?" Yang asked with folded arms.

"That was before the witness testimony of Grimm coming out of a research facility with the facility's androids. I'm pretty sure Oobleck would have told us if Merlot Industries had a license for working with Grimm."

"That's a thing?" Emerald asked.

"Sure it is."

"That's fourth year material Mercury," Ozpin explained. "Merlot Industries has no such license. No current company does."

"Well. That makes my essay easier."

"I do not count as a reliable source on this topic Mercury as I officially only have papers of companies in Vale and only then if they give them to me."

"Well damn."

Ruby stuck her tongue out at him.

"That's just rude."

"Your students have no manners at all Oz." Dr Merlot was beginning to sound like a petulant child. They couldn't see another speaker.

"I run a Combat School Dr Merlot, not a grammar school." At least Ozpin didn't seem annoyed by them. But then Mercury would just switch him off too. "After someone sends something to kill them, no matter how ineffective, they do have every right to be less than gracious towards that individual."

Yang shrugged as if to say 'that's a fair point'.

"If you think this is us being rude…" Emerald pushed her hands in her pockets. "Then you have no idea what you're getting into if we get mad at you."

Mercury smirked at that. He then ignored the adults. "Well fearless leader? Back or forth?"

"Forth," Ruby replied as if scandalised. "Duh!" She then spun around and trotted inside, knowing full well her family would follow.

The lab was exactly what Emerald was expecting: mostly white, very organised and not anything interesting in sight.

Then again, there weren't any androids or Grimm either.

"Hey, Merlot," Mercury called to the air. "Don't suppose you're going to give your visitors a map?"

That was obviously something that Ruby and Yang hadn't thought about. To be fair, it hadn't occurred to Emerald either until she saw the four doors scattered around the walls.

One of the doors opened. "This way please."

The four glanced at each other. Ruby's eyes rested a little longer on Mercury, who tilted his head almost imperceptivity. They would play along while he would carefully search for other options should they need them.

Emerald was sure they would.

However, without a map of the facility and no way of really getting one, they didn't have much choice to follow Merlot's plans. He was unlikely to lead them directly to him, but it was expected that he wanted test subjects for his guinea pigs.

Given the fact his mutated Beowolves were casually wandering around on the mainland, Merlot almost certainly had things more powerful.

Emerald found herself looking forward to it.

They followed wide and thin hallways to rooms to more hallways to more rooms.

Eventually, they came to a halt, ignoring the room in the far end. To try and get their attention again, the door kept opening and closing. None of them moved towards it.

Yang groaned. "How long is this going to take?"

"Almost there," Merlot replied. "My apologies that there isn't a more direct route but that is for security reasons."

"That's fine," Mercury replied. He had wandered over to a console and had connected his scroll to it but was standing so the camera wouldn't see. "We're in no rush and we've been going all day. Mind if we take a break?"

"Well…I suppose there's no harm. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourselves now, would we?"

Mercury needed time and it would be wise to make sure Merlot didn't focus on him. This was one of those times Emerald was regretting the fact her Semblance didn't work on cameras.

"I'll take a water Mercury," Emerald called.

Mercury threw the bag at her.

"That's no way to treat a lady."

She got a scoff as a response.

She opened the bag and caught sight of the runes just below the stitching. Wondering if he had finally managed to make the bag weightless and also bottomless, she lifted it up and down a little. She barely felt it, but that didn't mean much. There wasn't much in there.

Emerald took out one bottle of water and chugged down half of it. She found she was quite thirsty.

She tossed another to Ruby, who began to gulp hers down.

She deliberately threw Yang's at her head.

Yang caught it when it bounced off, but she turned to give Emerald a blank look. "Oh, so that's how it's going to be?" She knew what Emerald was doing, but even if she didn't she would have played along.

Emerald shrugged and took another sip. "You should have been paying attention."

"Really."

"She has a point Yang," Ruby stirred as she took another gulp herself. She knew full well where this was likely to go and Emerald could easily see the mischief in her eyes.

Yang was going to respond to that somehow, probably with Ruby first as she was closest. But what would she do?

In the corner of her eye, Mercury was being very still and trying not to draw attention to himself.

Yang poured the rest of her water bottle over Ruby's head.

Emerald fought back a chuckle while Ruby spluttered. She wasn't very successful and a full blown laugh escaped when Ruby jumped on her sister's shoulders and returned the favour.

Of course, since Emerald started it, something was heading her way.

However, Yang only chose to steal Emerald's water bottle and managed to finish it in three seconds. Emerald had thought that the bottle itself made that impossible, but she wasn't going to question that now.

"Give that back Yang." She didn't want it back, but nothing attracted attention like a fight. It wasn't as if Merlot would notice the bottle was empty.

Yang stuck her tongue out. "Neh, neh-neh, neh-neh, neh!"

Emerald jumped for her.

Ruby hopped off Yang's shoulders and made a show at trying to hold Emerald back.

This very quickly descended into a cat and mouse game combined with the occasional tug of war. There was a small part of Emerald that knew how childish this was, but she didn't care.

"Well, if you are feeling better, would you like to continue?" Merlot asked as the door continued to open and close.

"Merlot. Don't go there." Mercury. He was leaning with his back to the console, arms and legs crossed. Whatever he was doing needed time, but obviously not attention.

"I am merely concerned with their welfare."

"Well, I'm concerned about mine and getting involved in a sister scuffle never ends well for me. Regardless of whether I was the one who interrupted it or not."

He did have a point there.

For a few minutes, Emerald nearly forgot that this started because they were buying time. It was just a game they played at home and Ruby and Yang were going to lose if Emerald had anything to say about it.

After a while, Mercury turned back to the console, shaking his head.

Three seconds later, a door on the opposite wall opened.

As if a button had been pressed, the girls stopped fighting.

"What have you done?" Merlot growled, shock evident in his voice.

Mercury flicked a few screens on his scroll before he put it back on his belt. "Relax, would you? We're just going to take a little detour, that's all. For the record, your security is horrendous."

Looked like Mercury had managed to hook his scroll up to the laboratory itself. He obviously had schematics and some control over the security system, at the least. The second wasn't a big thing with his Semblance being a nice bypass, but the map was essential.

"You're not authorised to be in there!"

 _Merlot couldn't have made a better line to advertise that to us if he tried._

Naturally, the four headed in there.

 _So that's where the test tubes were._

They fluoresced in the same way the goo outside did, but instead of blue they were green. A very familiar green and were indeed guarded by a great many mutated Creeps and Beowolves. There were a huge number of androids too. What was inside the test tubes couldn't be seen. Over to the side were canisters of the same colour.

"That is my improved serum, the pinnacle of years of dedicated research."

"We'll see about that," Yang commented.

Mercury held up a hand. The other three waited a little impatiently. "Say Ozpin…On a scale of one to ten, how _intact_ do you need this lab?"

Ozpin hummed as if he was thinking. "Preferably a zero."

Ruby let out an evil cackle. "Destroy! Everything!"

That was precisely what they did.

Yang even picked a playlist from her scroll's music library to fit the battle.

The room was easy the size of a football pitch so there was always plenty of room to run around. The androids might have armour that protected them from their own grenades, but the mutated Grimm had no such protection and were easy to get in the crossfire. The Grimm also didn't know the word 'teamwork', so it was remarkably simply to use their collateral damage to hit something else.

Then a love song came on.

 _You have got to be kidding me!_

Mercury caught the android's spear. "By all that is dark and evil Yang, do you _seriously_ listen to that?"

"No!" Yang sounded just as horrified as Emerald felt. "I didn't put this on there!"

"Switch it!" For once, that sounded like an _order_ from Ruby.

Yang disengaged from the battle for a good five minutes to search through her scroll for any other unwelcome hits. By the second song she found and deleted, Nora had done it.

Soon enough, the good tunes were back on again.

So the fight continued.

The biggest difficulty was destroying the test tubes. Not only did the mutated Grimm not move away from them no matter what they did, whatever the thing was made of was resistant to quite a bit of brute force. Yang had eventually had enough and shattered it with a point blank Dust round; an action quickly adopted by the other three.

The fight wasn't exactly difficult, but Emerald got very sick of it very soon.

The Creeps stayed in the spot they had chosen and always exploded when they were killed, so it was very easy to learn their blast range and behaviour just before the boom. They were mostly used as bombs against the others.

The Beowolves were fast but predictable. Their issue was the insane amount of damage they could take. Their 'spike out of the ground' move was very helpful against the androids.

The white androids didn't stay in place for more than a minute (less if someone got too close) and their armour was quite effective at long range shots. Mercury wound up killing most of them with that red and grey grenade-like Dust blast.

The red androids were _by far_ the most annoying. Ruby was the first to have enough after one too many jabs from a distance she had been sure they couldn't reach. She switched to yellow Dust rounds. That obviously hadn't been taken into account in their design and they went down fast.

If they used their full abilities they could have finished the fight far sooner.

However, with cameras recording and them having no idea where that footage would end up, they were playing it cautious.

That and their points game would be very skewed if they didn't have restrictions.

"Hmm. A minor setback but I must say you have great combat ability." A large door on the far wall opened. "This way please."

 _Okay. That's not good._

Emerald glanced at Mercury, who had checked his scroll. He caught her eye and nodded once. She started forward carefully and the others followed. Yang switched off her scroll's music for now.

"So…We break his stuff and he's not even mad?" Ruby asked, her excitement from before almost gone.

"Never a good sign Ruby," Mercury replied. "Especially as this must have cost millions of lien, if not more. I will give it a ten out of ten for stability though. All those explosions and not one scorch mark on the walls or floor."

"It didn't crush us, so I'm not going to complain," Emerald shrugged. "So where are we going?"

"To an arena is my guess. Those not up for a harder fight; speak now or forever hold you peace."

Yang snorted. "Where's that even from anyway?"

"You think I would know?"

"I would have preferred you not to spoil the surprise," Merlot sighed. "But I supposed it can't be helped. Fortunately I have already perfected the formula for my serum, but there are some subjects that have yet to be tested. You'll do nicely."

"If you're talking about the Beowolves and Creeps, I could write a paper on why they're not perfect," Mercury answered, not a care in the world. He then scoffed. "In fact, I could write one on why the originals are superior."

 _Now that I think about it, why are the Grimm suddenly attacking him now when they didn't at Mountain Glenn? What's changed?_

"But why Grimm?" Ruby asked. "I mean, you have all these resources and time…Why not use your androids in place of Huntsmen or find a way to grow enough food for when trade isn't possible? Why try to make Grimm more deadly?"

Mercury rolled his eyes, but he didn't say anything. He was faced away so Ruby couldn't see.

To him, the answer was obvious. It took a moment for Emerald to try understand the repercussions, but the point was that he had no interest in helping other people. Greed. Pure and simple.

For once, Merlot didn't answer. "Not far now students."

"Fear tactics Ruby." Mercury had changed his mind. "Grimm are thought to be uncontrollable and are the sole thing that can make any people who loathe each other cooperate. If someone were shown to control them, there would be chaos and terror spread everywhere. The power of the Grimm is not necessarily in their strength, but their numbers. When one attacks a village, the emotions of that village will continue to bring more until its defenders fall. If the Grimm are tougher to kill, villages that have stood for years could fall. If someone was shown to create and control them, demands could be made and would probably be met."

Emerald glanced at him, but he didn't continue. There was more to it; he had left out Cinder and those she worked with. Cinder could control Grimm, but she hadn't gone that route. Mercury knew all this.

There was more. There had to be.

But Mercury didn't say it.

Ruby frowned a little as she worked through that. Yang was also quiet.

Mercury's eyes went to Ruby.

 _He wants her to figure out the rest. But what is it he wants us to figure out?_

Yang stopped for a moment. When she continued, there was a slight smile there.

Emerald was definitely missing something.

Ruby didn't get it either.

"You are certainly an intelligent one."

The four ignored the man.

After a while, the catwalk just literally stopped. Below was a circular area not unlike an ancient arena. The roof was so high Emerald could barely see it. Again, the area was huge but this time there were no obstacles down there. It was plain and flat.

 _Flying possibly. Nevermores sometimes live in Emerald Forest._

"Professor Ozpin?"

"Yes Ruby?"

"I think we'll be ready to leave soon. Could you send that airship soon please?"

"Certainly. I do ask that you don't do something stupid, though I trust you to be far better than that."

"Depends on the mood," Mercury replied.

"Indeed."

"Wish we brought Zwei," Yang muttered wistfully. "And Talaria too. They'd have had a great time."

"Glad you came then?" Mercury asked with a smile.

"Oh yeah. Who knows what you would have got up to if you had gone alone?"

"I would be back by now."

"Yeah right."

"Guys." Ruby pointed to the arena. "Dad's making cookies for us when we get back. I want to get home as soon as possible."

Emerald thought about that for less than a second. "What kind?"

"He said all of them and then some."

Instantly, all four jumped into the arena.

Ozpin spoke then. "Am I to assume you want the airship to drop you off at home rather than return to Beacon?"

"Yes," was the unanimous response.

"I will tell the driver."

"Welcome to the Testing Grounds, students." Merlot sounded like an announcer at a sports match. "As you have proven more than a match for my common subjects, I will just skip that and test my new creations."

"I think there's a bit of plagiarism in there," Mercury responded with folded arms. "And you need to fire your marketer. 'Testing Grounds' certainly explains the purpose, but there's no spark there. No originality."

There was a notable pause before Merlot continued. From the slight growl at the beginning of his speech, Mercury was really annoying him.

"I have quite a bit of data on previous experiments and I thank you for more. You have highlighted and exploited weaknesses I had not thought of. However, I think you will find this next ground far superior to what you fought before. I will be fair and provide you with one each. We both gain nothing from you dying so soon."

"Five lien on Nevermores," Emerald stated.

"I'll call. I pick Ursa." Only when Mercury said it did Emerald realise they had yet to see one. It had been Ursa Major. She groaned and accepted she was going to lose.

"I'm with Emerald," Ruby added. "Nevermore. Zebrina had to fight one in Initiation. Yang?"

 _That's some bad luck, considering that Jaune provoked that Death Stalker and the Beringal had been saved for us._

"I think he's going to go big first. Death Stalker."

That…wasn't a bad bet actually.

But the wall seemed to ripple and it was mutated Ursa that charged through. Save for the head, there was very little white on them. It had been replaced by green, but rather than the spikes the Beowolves had, it was a completely round and smooth surface. There were four of them, as he had said. There were almost certainly more in the wings.

 _Five lien to Mercury so far._

"I honestly expected them to be bigger," Mercury commented.

"As long as they're stronger, they can be the size of a mouse for all I care," Yang responded.

Honestly, Emerald thought she would have more trouble with something that was the size of a mouse.

The four immediately split and spread out. The size of the arena made it possible for four individual matches.

It was fun actually. Ursa were the first, Nevermore was next, Boarbatusk then, Death Stalker came after, followed by King Taijitu and the last group were Griffons. All mutated and all different.

Creeps exploded. Beowolves created a line of spikes. Ursa could create spheres of that green stuff with black something inside that was probably Grimm flesh or something that exploded on contact. Boarbatusk could spin sideways as well their normal way and could send projectiles in all directions. Nevermore had homing green feathers when it fired them at the ground and could create whirlwinds. The Death Stalker had a good amount of tricks, mostly firing some kind of projectile in different directions and causing a minor earthquake when its stinger was driven into the ground. King Taijitu had four heads and two tails which allowed them to fly. A Griffon's roar was a dangerous attack in of itself that could easily knock someone off their feet, they could detach their claws to fire like a missile, only to regrow them again and the green shapes manifested as tentacles that seemed to have a mind of their own as they wormed around weapons.

It was fun.

Absolutely dangerous and had many close calls, but fun.

These Grimm evidently had no idea how to cooperate, so it was merely four fights running simultaneously. Oddly enough, the area was large enough that they didn't have to worry about collateral damage or interfering with each other.

But there was no time between each one.

By the time the Death Stalker appeared, Emerald had been running on autopilot and was fighting the Maiden power that wanted to fight for her. She didn't mind showing it if she needed it or for cheap tricks that could have a thousand explanations, but she wasn't using it for this. She would use it against people because they were the real dangers, but not against Grimm that became predictable after a few minutes observing.

Even so, some things happened. A whirlwind that lost its power a millisecond before it hit her or became more powerful so she could get a lift to her enemy's face. The stinger not making an earthquake once it pierced the ground. A slight gust of wind that knocked a long range projectile off course.

That Emerald didn't bother to resist. It was as if the power had a mind of its own, but did exactly what Emerald would have done if she planned to use it.

The second thing Amber had taught her was how to prevent the eye glow through a lot of willpower. That was a sign that 'I'm a Maiden', but it turned out it was _optional._ Amber had originally thought Emerald and Mercury were two kids down on their luck that were stealing to survive, so had tried to scare them away. If Emerald hadn't been so loyal to Cinder, it would have worked on her. Cinder had wanted people to fear her so had never hidden those abilities.

Using the power didn't cause the eye glow unless the Maiden did that, by accident or not. Before she was shown, Emerald had done so because she hadn't known any better. Now she managed to instinctively prevent it.

Her use of it was far more subtle than the majority of her predecessors.

It didn't change the fact Emerald was absolutely exhausted after the Griffon.

She wasn't the only one. Ruby was leaning heavily on Crescent Rose, but a very satisfied smile was on her face. Yang was panting hard and also had a very happy grin on her face. Both looked ready to collapse. Emerald wasn't feeling much better.

Mercury alone was unaffected. He was standing tall, arms crossed and finger idly tapping his arm. He looked bored.

 _You have no idea how much I hate you right now Mercury._

Emerald closed her eyes and controlled her breathing. She sensed energy from around and guided it towards herself. Forcing it didn't work. Guiding it normally did. She didn't get much because there was nothing living to generate that life energy so there was little nature could give her. That unnerved feeling grew, but she no longer felt like she was going to collapse at any minute.

"This isn't possible. You should have been ripped apart. You cannot still be alive." The man didn't sound angry. He sounded in complete and utter disbelief.

"Just so you know Merlot: we're second years." Mercury didn't even sound winded.

Emerald would have told Mercury not to provoke him, but she trusted him. She knew what would happen next.

Just as she predicted, Merlot sent every Grimm he had at them.

Just as she knew he would, Mercury protected them.

The Guardian Form appeared. It wrapped around all them of them and carefully nudged them together, something they were very glad of. They just relaxed and caught their breath again.

But Mercury didn't attack with the aura Grimm dragon.

He used the aura blade.

He hadn't used the weapon at all before when he battled his gauntlet. He stuck solely to his greaves and fighting style. At no point was Dust or a blade used. That was in the spirit of their competition.

Now it was extermination, not a game.

Mercury knew precisely where to aim.

The body/tail lowered and lay next to another layer so the girls could see. He avoided a later scolding by doing that.

It was interesting actually. Logically, Emerald knew he must at least have the same amount of aura than that wrong Grimm aura dragon that Cinder had ripped out of him. That had destroyed a lot of villages with strong defenders. His aura recharge had always been very swift. She had just never seen him use it.

One swipe of the blade and whatever he had been aiming for was killed instantly. The sky was no obstacle as he had always been able to jump that high with his prosthetics combined with aura and, the very rare time it wasn't enough, he bounced off the wall. He was killing the things with no effort quicker than Merlot could release the others to replace them.

"Awesome," Ruby murmured breathlessly.

This wasn't a game. It was business.

But to Emerald, it was also a show.

Mercury was saying that he was ready to go out on his own. He was much more powerful than he had ever been before and he knew how to use it. He knew there was a time for games and a time to be serious. He was saying he wasn't someone they needed to worry about.

 _He's going to leave. Very soon._

 _I'm not sure I'm ready for that._

Within three minutes, there were no more replacements. None of the Grimm had gotten anywhere near the girls.

Mercury looked back as the blade vanished. He held Emerald's eyes; silently asking if she understood.

Emerald swallowed. With a long breath, she nodded once.

 _I'll manage._

He smiled. His shoulders relaxed a little.

Yang gave him a nod of approval as well. She had understood his message too.

Another few seconds passed.

Yang looked up with a grin. "What's wrong Dr Merlot? Run out of experiments?"

…

"What are you?"

Merlot had gone far past disbelief at this point. His tone was completely flat and might as well have been a robot.

"Done with this place honestly," was Mercury's casual response. "Is it a big red button?"

The Guardian Form snarled a little and flapped its wings once. It was gone through the ceiling. Not a second later, red lights were flashing and sirens were blaring.

"The self-destruct system has been activated. This building will detonate in five minutes. This sequence cannot be aborted."

 _Why is that voice so chirpy? At least it's not on repeat._

"The airship will be there momentarily," Ozpin said. Emerald had almost forgotten he was on the scroll. "Find a way outside or to a window and it will pick you up."

"Got it." With a press of a button on Mercury's scroll, all the doors opened. "This way." He headed towards one particular hallway, which Emerald could see opened up for air travel.

"Next time, tell us the way out before you blow up the building," Yang scolded, but she didn't sound too upset.

"Where's the fun in that?" A rather predictable response.

The airship began to fly through the gap in the hangar then, careful not to damage a wing at the awkward angle but also careful to be quick. It didn't land properly but hovered a little above the ground with the side facing them opened.

Emerald hopped up first, immediately turning around to check on the others. Ruby and Yang were obviously tired but got on with little problems. Mercury waited until last before joining them.

The door instantly came down and began to cautiously make its way out again.

"Anyone injured?" The pilot questioned, not taking his eyes off the controls.

"No," Ruby replied happily. "Mission's done. Yippee!"

"That's what we like to hear."

Emerald's head hit the wall. The sturdy structure felt good against her back. "Yeah. Job well done."

"And our reward is cookies," Ruby nodded firmly.

"Sounds good," Mercury chuckled. Then he stretched out. "I counted 374, not including the last ones."

Yang was next. "319."

Ruby piped up. "479."

Emerald tagged hers on. "421."

Ruby punched the air. "Yes!" Then she collapsed back down again.

Mercury smiled softly. "So girls…Any plans for tomorrow?"

"I'm not thinking past those cookies personally," Emerald groaned out. "But I am not getting up before midday."

Yang shrugged. "Meh. Maybe I'll go driving."

 _Still…_

Despite her muscles complaining about her choice of combat, Emerald felt better than she had in a long while.

Now she just needed to figure out a good way to get back at Mercury as dressing up Fluffy wasn't looking possible.


	23. Life is a Responsibility

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

"I'm getting very sick of Mountain Glenn."

Qrow smiled and ruffled Mercury's hair. "That's what you get when you hack into a company's database."

Mercury glared at him and mucked with his hair to get it back the way he liked it. "That wasn't exactly intentional. How was I supposed to know that the guy had the worst security in the world?"

"By guessing that if he didn't have any proper staff, he didn't have an IT technician?"

There had been no security around Merlot's data probably because the man didn't have the knowledge of making firewalls and computer viruses. When Mercury guessed his password ('Merlot'. What an idiot) he had access to _everything_.

"I'm a mechanic, not a computer guy."

"Then let that be a lesson to you. And don't complain about doing too good of a job."

Mercury let out a very aggravated sigh.

That made Qrow chuckle.

It was a simple job. They had a blueprint of the original tunnels under Mountain Glenn. Mercury had blueprints of Merlot's additions. They merely needed to check there weren't any tunnels unaccounted for, along with eliminating any remaining mutant Grimm. Apparently, there were twenty that had gotten to the mainland that hadn't already been dealt with.

"If this is what happens when I do 'too good of a job', I'm going to do the very least from now on."

"You can try." Qrow was very doubtful he would be successful in that. Mercury was too much of a perfectionist when he could be bothered.

"Your support fills me with great confidence." He knew it too.

"Doesn't it always?"

The tunnels split up now. That was always going to be the problem and honestly, they needed more than two people to search them completely. Where was Ironwood's army when you wanted them? However the kids had followed a very singular line to Forever Fall and eventually to the ship they irresponsibly stowed away on. It was in those nearby branch tunnels where the twenty mutated Grimm would be.

They were also pitch black, so Mercury would be going down them. Qrow would be scouting through the lit network near it.

Joy.

The Grimm nearby were staring at them and had been for quite a while. So far, they hadn't attacked and Qrow didn't really see the point in wasting ammo killing them. Mountain Glenn would just repopulate and he could not be bothered today.

"You have a very high opinion of yourself," Mercury responded to his earlier jibe.

"It's completely justified."

"From a very biased jury."

"Only one I care about. Don't suppose you can just tell the mutated Grimm to come here?"

Mercury showed no immediate reaction to that question. He studied Qrow for a moment before replying. "Afraid not. They don't like me. How'd you know?" He admitted to it easily enough.

Qrow shrugged. "Barty mentioned that the Grimm ignored you before. I wondered if that had changed. There should have been Grimm at times where there weren't, such as the situation with the poachers. I know for a fact there were at least three Beowolves nearby." The other main time had been Zephyr's funeral.

"…Does anyone else know?"

"Not in our family. Ozpin probably has a guess."

"Ozpin can jump off a cliff."

Qrow snorted. He ignored Mercury's sarcastic comment. "So much for the quick way."

"We still have the basic map matching." Mercury sounded and looked far too innocent when he said that.

"Don't ruin my day. I'm borrowing your flying fox. That got a name yet?" Two of the girls had a habit of wanting to name everything.

"If they have named it, I don't know it." Mercury and Emerald on the other hand only named things when it was practical to.

 _Odd that neither the Simple Form nor the Guardian Form has, come to think of it._

The winged fox didn't have grey eyes, but it was a lot more animated than Qrow remembered. It flew around his head. It shook its body like a Zwei would in an attempt to dry its fur before it went back to flying around. He didn't think Mercury was doing that on purpose.

The closest Grimm to it were following it with their heads. None of them showed any sign of aggression.

 _Now. Where to start?_

"Eenie, meenie, miney, mo…"

Mercury rolled his eyes with a chuckle. He turned and headed down a pitch black tunnel with a wave. The shadows enveloped him quickly.

The childish rhyme gave him a starting point.

The winged fox had stopped and was now hovering near him. It tilted its head in a quizzical manner.

The Grimm were snarling at him now, but they still didn't attack him. Qrow suspected that would change if the Simple Form moved too far away from him. Or if he attacked them or was anything other than calm.

 _Hmm…This might take a while. That tunnel is connected to that tunnel and that one leads to a dead end…So this one would be the best to start._

There was some method to his madness. This one looped around and crossed with quite a few others. Hopefully he could cross out a few tunnels this way. This was going to take all day anyway; Qrow didn't want it to take two or three.

It only took five minutes before he was bored, but he couldn't truly relax. Every time a Grimm turned to glare at him, he fought the urge to attack. But they always kept their distance and Qrow was forcing himself to be neutral.

While the implications were very disturbing when it was truly considered, Qrow was honestly glad that Mercury wouldn't be having any problems with Grimm when he eventually left.

 _Of course, that does mean Salem is going to try to kill him and he's probably going to be quite high on that hit list._

Qrow didn't want Mercury leaving home until he learned that particular aura trick. He didn't know if it was an Aura Wielder technique (what little of the rulebook they knew was sort of thrown out with Mercury anyway), but it was devastating against people. Mercury had the idea down and managed four times out of five, but that wasn't enough in Qrow's or Tai's opinion.

Especially if they were right and Mercury was planning to head to Mistral. The slow way.

Qrow froze. He knew that shadow.

He gripped the winged fox by the scruff of the neck and pulled it backwards. He considered shifting into a crow for a moment. It was a wise idea, but he still shouldn't be seen. Once he managed to back into a connecting tunnel and completely out of view, he shifted.

The fox landed next to him and nudged him a little. It now had grey eyes. Getting the message, Qrow hopped onto its snout and then onto its back.

[What did you see?]

[A Seer.] Qrow sensed the bafflement and elaborated. [They look like creepy jellyfish.]

He got a confirmation then, along with…disgust? That was odd. It was the right image though. [Those things. I don't like those things.]

[Salem can communicate using them. They're her eyes and ears around Remnant.]

[I didn't see that in any of the books I read. I even checked after I got back. I take it she doesn't take it into civilisations?]

[Not normally. She likes us battling each other rather than uniting against a common cause.]

[We didn't find anything like that either time. What's it doing here now?]

It almost passed by then. The fox began to phase backwards into the wall; one hidden in shadow. Qrow phased with it. Qrow could see his body in the rock when he glanced sideways, but it didn't hurt. It just felt weird.

The Seer passed by them. It hadn't seen them.

Three feet away and the fox stepped forward, out of the wall. [Shift back.]

Qrow, confused, tried to read him. Mercury didn't let him. That was a little worrying, but…

He hopped off and shifted back to human.

Almost faster than Qrow could follow, the fox had _leapt._ Its jaws sank into the top area of the tentacles. The wings kept it stable. Two tugs and they were ripped off.

 _Oh. That'll work and in case she sees me, I'll be human._

Fair enough.

They couldn't really leave a Seer in Mountain Glenn, after all.

 _But the kids were only here yesterday, even if they didn't search thoroughly. How did they never come across it? Or did it only come here today?_

Qrow hadn't intended to leave it alive, but he had wanted to be a little more careful. Then again, he had never battled this thing before and didn't want to get close enough to the tentacles. Mercury's Semblance was very useful here and he was more than happy to use it on him too.

Qrow hadn't known he could use it on other people as well if he had contact with them.

The sword swung. The orb shattered.

"Well. That was anti-climactic."

A chuckle echoed down the tunnels. The grey-eyed fox's tail flicked. "I was expecting more of a fight." Its ears then twitched. "I think that's a mutated Beowulf." The paw pointed. "That way."

"I got it. Now get back to what you were doing."

"Yes Professor Branwen." The grey eyes faded back into the whitish silver.

Qrow patted its head and followed the directions given. He knew everything the kids knew about these mutant Grimm and he was ready for them.

 _Found one. Only nineteen more to go._

This was going to be a long day. Maybe a long few days.

 _The joys of being a Huntsman._

Still. Teaching was worse. He still wasn't sure how someone thought it was a good idea to hire him, his success aside.

The mutant Alpha Beowulf attacked as soon as it noticed him.

 _I just hope the others are as easy to find. I do have other things to do this week._

As it happened, they found all the mutant Grimm within eight hours and were back in time for a late dinner with Taiyang. Killing mutant Grimm and causing cave-ins in inconvenient tunnels worked up quite the appetite.

Of course, this was when Mercury chose to tell them he was going to Atlas on Saturday.

* * *

"No…No…Maybe…No…Definitely…"

Ruby stuck her head in the dorm. She had just come back from a swimming competition and had come in first in butterfly. She hadn't managed to get anywhere above fourth in the other strokes.

"Hey Yang. What are you doing?"

Yang looked up from…whatever she was doing. "Hey Ruby. I was going through some of these games and wondering if it would be fun to do dubbing or commentated playthroughs of the RPGs."

"Huh." That did sound fun. She skipped over to not land on any of the games and plopped down next to her sister. "Whatcha think so far?"

"Well, I was thinking the crime and law games would be good and most don't have voice acting, especially the old ones. Didn't…who was it…Was it Jagoda have experience in computing and gaming?"

"Yeah. She was the one who did that fan translation of something. That was a law game actually. We can ask if we can dub that." Ruby had always meant to play that, but she had never got around to it. "Who do you think are going to be the voice actors? I'd like to, but maybe my voice wouldn't suit a lot of people…"

Yang grinned. "Oh, I can think of a few." She glanced at her scroll. "I've got a few people in mind and a few roles for them on good games, but I haven't asked them yet. I was going to ask script by script."

A thought occurred to Ruby. "Aren't there laws against this sort of thing?"

"Not if there's no profit for anyone. Besides, it's considered good advertising."

Ruby shrugged. Then she pointed at one game. "That's a no. Unless we state at the beginning that there are over 100 branches in the story."

"Or we do it weekly and let the public pick the path. Like a vote."

Not a bad idea. "I still don't think we should start with that. Those three are almost linear, so I think they're a good starting point. We just need to practice because I know the plot real well…"

"I was also thinking about that acting group that meets three times a week. Think they'll be interested?"

"I don't see any harm in asking." She settled down with a good game to start with. Maybe she could think of good people to voice the characters. She might want to write people a background sheet too.

There was a knock at the door. Jaune popped his head in. "Girls, what books did you check out of the library?"

"None," Ruby replied. "Why?"

"I could have sworn I saw a book on how to make paper mashe fireworks, but I can't find it now. Thanks anyway." His head vanished and the door closed.

Ruby and Yang looked at each other.

""Friday.""

They returned to what they were doing.

* * *

Emerald skipped the fireworks display on Friday. She had an appointment with Dr Waterbrook.

She may have done what she wanted with her healing, but she had continued her studies into medicine and was now quite far into studying psychology. It was something that genuinely interested her.

There wasn't anyone in the infirmary. Dr Waterbrook was in his office.

"Evening Miss Ryu."

"Evening." Emerald sat down in the spare chair.

"Have any trouble with the biology?"

"Apart from the ridiculous names for everything? Not really. I think I've got the hang of everything in the preliminary test you gave me. Professor Goodwitch can tell you I did it in exam conditions."

Dr Waterbrook chuckled softly. "She did mention it to me. While you did misspell a few names, you did identify them correctly and, more importantly, didn't get anything wrong on the organs. I would give it 95%."

Emerald perked up at that. It was a very general test, but all her friends had thrown up their hands at some of the questions, so it wasn't common knowledge. "Thank you. So what are we moving on to next?"

"You know the theory. Now we'll put it into context." He placed a picture in front of her. It was a mannequin, but other than a little blood, Emerald couldn't see any obvious problems. "This individual was found on a forest track three hours away from the nearest village. He is very unresponsive. Let's start simple. What can you tell about the situation?"

Emerald picked up the picture and thought. She spoke aloud quietly.

"Right. Blood is on the back of the collar so possible head wound. Nothing on the floor nearby so no weapon or cause…" She considered. She started again, a little slower this time. "No blood anywhere else, so possible blow to the back of the head. Results vary greatly. The clothes aren't ruffled so no struggle or sign of stress…" She thought for a few more minutes. "Nothing else springs to mind."

"A good first assessment. So what do you do?"

"The first thing would be to check if he is alive." For her studies, she pretended she didn't have the power to assess or heal someone with a touch if she wanted. "A check of the pulse in the neck and wrist."

"Why the neck and wrist?"

Names…What were they called? "Radial artery…in the wrist and…carotid artery in the neck. Radial artery is preferred but both are better for a reliable result."

"A good start. Let us suppose you find a pulse. The heart is beating at 47 beats per minute."

The mannequin was in a sitting position, leaning against a tree. "That's considered low…" Okay. The pulse was low, but there was trauma to the body. That altered the heartbeat, but up or down? And why? "A lower heart rate reduces the amount of oxygen getting to the brain…so…Fainting and low blood pressure…heart problems. Cardiac arrest possible…" She was being a little cynical here. Thinking a little more, she continued. "Blood on the back of the head, so the head shouldn't be moved in case of possible spinal injury which could lead to paralysis. In this case, I would search on my scroll for the nearest hospital. There's little I can do and I wouldn't want to do more damage."

"A good response. What if he dies before help can arrive?"

Emerald shook her head. "There's nothing most can do. Not much can help and a lot can make the situation worse. I could end up killing him myself."

Dr Waterbrook nodded. "Obviously, when it comes to situations like this, there is no complete right answer. There are many _wrong_ answers, but not one right. Your scenario is a good answer. So you know, this particular individual died before help could arrive. He had been hit on the head over five hours before and it took him that long to die. He walked there himself."

Emerald wasn't too surprised to hear that. People could do very impressive things when pressured.

"So that is what most people would do. What would you do?"

"Well, the first thing after checking for a pulse would be to see the damage to the spinal cord. If that is undamaged, I can move the head to have a better look. Cerebellum…balance and coordination or…sight…Occipital lobe for visual interpretation. That's not including damage that might have happened if the front of the brain hit the skull. If it's the cerebellum…Still best not to move too much. I would still call the hospital as I don't know much about brains but I would try to keep internal bleeding internal."

Dr Waterbrook hummed. "You wouldn't try to fix the damage instinctively?"

Emerald sighed. "If it was someone I cared for, I would probably try but…Well, I would probably know them a little better. Instinctively I mean, especially if I sparred with them. I would try not to unless it was very, very desperate. I could get something very wrong and that's not an organ you mess with."

"A good instinct. Brain damage can be very long term and that is best for experts to handle." He picked up another picture. "How about this one?"

Emerald placed her picture on the desk and took the next photo.

Only to drop it onto the desk.

"Next. I don't want to talk about that."

"You know about this? The case went unsolved."

"Probably only because the prosecutors didn't think they'd get a conviction. Next."

"One of them would be Misty Clover, correct?" Dr Waterbrook took the photo back. It had been a mannequin and not the body but still. He entwined his fingers. "These lessons are confidential Miss Ryu as case files are often used when teaching psychology. You know this."

"Yes." She couldn't talk about specific details with anyone else. General things such as head wounds and possible brain damage, but if names were mentioned, that couldn't be passed on without Dr Waterbrook's permission. "I know."

"I would like details. Not for a biological discussion but psychological. If you really don't wish to, we can move on."

Emerald swallowed. She didn't want to talk about it but…She did want to know how people thought that was acceptable.

"Okay. I only really remember Misty in clear detail. I could make out the other two were the same age and were female as well. From what I could gather, they were punishing the one in the car trunk because she 'stole' Misty's boyfriend. After she died…I think…Misty made a comment that she set the victim up; that she told her boyfriend to date her. I didn't understand that. I still don't."

Dr Waterbrook hummed. "Teenage years are…interesting to study from a scientific point. Beacon does have similar aspects of other high schools, but it is very tame compared to others."

That had been Emerald's experience. Hogwarts had been far more vicious than Beacon, which was saying a lot considering Beacon was a warrior school.

"Bullying for instance," Emerald suggested.

"Exactly. It is not unusual for some of the bullies to be angels in the teacher's eyes. They would never believe that they are bullies because they had never seen evidence of such. Some are very good at hiding who they really are."

"Sounds like blindness. There were no signs that these girls are psychos?"

"Misty is a qualified doctor, Miss Ryu. She must have passed an aptitude test. It may not be perfect but-"

"Could Mercury pass this test?" Emerald asked as she leaned back with her arms crossed.

"If he wanted to, I believe he could," Dr Waterbrook agreed. "That is the problem. It is not perfect and if you know how to answer the questions or know how to act…Unsuitable people do slip through the cracks."

"But…What I don't get was that they were friends…"

"The theory isn't simple. However, it is thought that girls are socialised to be nice while boys are not discouraged from letting out their aggression on something. Therefore, girls often display violence towards people they know. Males tend to attack strangers or disliked acquaintances. There are obviously exceptions, but those are general patterns."

Emerald thought about that. "So girls are more manipulative if they dislike someone. Normally."

"Normally. Remember, behaviour is difficult to study because there are so many factors involved. If there was an answer to all teenage behaviour, schools would be much better and we would have much less crime."

"Right." Emerald wasn't convinced. But she picked up the photo again. These wounds were something Cinder had been very familiar with healing…Emerald shook her head and put it down. "I can't do this one now."

Dr Waterbrook nodded and took it back. He gave her a different one.

This had been a normal gunshot wound to the leg.

This one, Emerald could do.

* * *

Weiss had asked to miss Professor Port's lecture last thing on Friday. She would catch up later. She had an airship to catch at two in the morning, so she went to bed at five in the afternoon.

With care not to wake her teammates, she got up at one and got dressed. She had showered before she went to bed for once, so it took a little longer to do her hair. However, there should be time for that later.

She rejected her original choice of dress the night before and decided on a less decorated design. She tied her hair back and headed out.

The school was silent.

Weiss was glad of the quiet.

Mercury was waiting for her at the airstrip. He was standing straight when she could make him out.

"This the sort of thing?"

Weiss considered. "Step back three steps."

Mercury dutifully obliged. Now he was in better light, she appraised his outfit.

He was in a very plain suit with a black tie. There were plain dark grey gloves. That was it. It was something that would be suitable for a funeral, even if it wasn't the one he wore for Zephyr's. However, for tonight, it was a little wrong.

"Do you still have that cufflink?"

Mercury gave her a very confused look, but he turned over his left wrist. It was sitting there where a cufflink should be and where he had never put it before.

"Put that on your left side lapel. Otherwise, it's fine."

"O…kay." He moved it. "Why?"

Weiss didn't answer that. "That's good enough. Let's go." She led the way onto the airship. Once she heard Mercury get on behind her, she spoke to the pilot. "Okay. We're good to leave."

"Understood."

Weiss returned to the seats. Mercury sat opposite her.

Neither spoke as the airship took off.

Weiss took a deep breath. She only needed to get through today. She closed her eyes and began to meditate. She would be returning to Beacon afterwards, not going back to her father's home. It would be a long day and she would be awake for over twenty four hours, but she would manage. Long days were part of being a Huntress.

"Weiss?"

She opened her eyes. They were now going over the sea. "What is it?"

"What exactly do you think I should talk about with others? I didn't know Whitely."

"Neither did most of them." He blinked at that. Weiss looked away from him to out the window. "I would suggest professional behaviour and small talk. If you mention attending Beacon, always bring up the fact you are taking the advanced course."

"…Right." He returned to silence after that.

Weiss couldn't deny she was dreading this. She stared at her scroll, hoping to hear from Winter. Anything really. Weiss knew she would be there at some point today, but it wasn't going to be easy.

"What are you doing?"

Mercury looked up briefly at the question before his gaze went back to his scroll. "Yang had this 'great' idea to do dubbing for some non-voiced games. She sent me a few characters they want me to do. I'm still deciding on my bribe."

Weiss frowned as she thought. She had heard rumours around the school about that. "I heard a few people discussing that, now I think of it. Team JEWL were very interested."

Mercury gave her a blank look. "Who?"

"Frist years."

"Ah." He sent that message off to Yang before switching back to what Weiss now saw was a script. "Interested yourself?"

Grateful for the distraction, Weiss seriously considered it. "There is no profit, correct?"

"Of course."

"Then I would be interested. It would be a beneficial experience."

He snorted. "Beneficial for what exactly?"

"It would be good for communication between many individuals and different departments. I know that Ruby nor Yang are technology savvy. On top of that, it would be a nice distraction from my duties."

"Well, you're not exactly looking for something to write on job applications."

Weiss smiled a little at the thought of writing one. "No, but it is something I can quote and a personal experience."

Mercury shrugged. "I'll let them know. You'll probably get assigned a lot of spoiled brat roles or something."

"I trust them to have more imagination than that." She thought for a moment. "Well…More variation than that. They have many to choose from if what I heard is true."

"They'll be glad to hear that. Ruby wasn't expecting many interested and their first few videos picked a chapter that only needs four people."

"Are you one of them?"

"Yeah. Me, Jaune, Sawyer and Coco. I'm sure chapter two includes Velvet, Drake and Lucas as well. We planned to record it next week after work or classes and it'll hopefully be online by this time next week. The next chapter should be the week after on a schedule."

"That sounds good, but maybe you should aim for Sunday rather than Saturday. If you can get the voice recordings done during the week, that gives you all of Saturday to get it perfect."

"I know that, but it depends on what Jagoda wants. She doesn't normally have things to do on the weekends…or weekdays either really. So far, so good. But you know how it is."

 _Anything can happen at any time…_

"May I see the script?"

Mercury glanced up, shrugged and moved to sit next to her.

It was calming to read. She could hear Mercury's voice when reading that characters lines, which was good. She could also hear Jaune's voice very well. This was a little basic and obvious, but it was a tutorial and so it was supposed to be.

"Do you know the backstory?"

"Only for my character. That's going to be the case for everyone. We thought it would make our responses easier to do."

This wasn't a game Weiss had played and Mercury had never played it either. In fact, he had no idea what happened until he was given the script to read for the voice acting and only for that chapter. Weiss thought she would do the same if she was asked to help.

At this hour, REY almost certainly hadn't read Mercury's messages.

Weiss turned away after she was done and again stared out of the window. Mercury moved back to opposite her, still looking at his scroll.

 _I just need to get through today. My father won't be happy about this, but he doesn't own me. I hope Klein doesn't mind though. I wonder when Winter is going to arrive. I could do with seeing her. I can only hope that today doesn't result in an argument._

 _I just…don't want to deal with anything._

There was a gentle shake on her shoulder.

She blinked and looked at Mercury, who was settling back into his seat. The sky was much brighter and she could see land if she directed her gaze down. Now she registered the cold, but that could be ignored easily.

 _Did I fall asleep?_

Only five minutes later, the airship began its descent.

Weiss took a deep breath.

The actual landing was very smooth. There was barely a bump and the humming of the engine stopped.

Oddly enough, when the pair disembarked, General Ironwood was waiting for them.

"General?" Weiss asked. "Is there a problem?"

"It's merely a security check Ms Schnee. Atlas is on high alert at the moment and we are on the outlook for any suspicious behaviour, even in friends."

"Oh." Weiss did recall that fact now. "Would my scroll be enough identification?"

"It is not exactly identification I require as that can be forged. It is merely a security question and your sister has given me one." The man must have seen her perk up. "I expect to see her in two hours, but she will only be at wake unless she changes the plan. I understand you two will also leave afterwards?"

"Yes but…" Weiss glanced at the two Atlesian Knights before returning her attention to General Ironwood. "Is this necessary?"

"I think so," Mercury replied. "I know that neither of my guardians were happy to learn I was heading to Atlas, but they were reluctant to tell me why. Something about a criminal in the area?"

It was only because Weiss was already very on edge, but she had a suspicion that Mercury knew more than he was saying. She did not ask; she did not want to know. Not today. She was satisfied that this was a genuine concern.

"Very well," Weiss nodded. "What was my question?"

The General appeared to relax. "What did Winter give you for your thirteenth birthday?"

Weiss thought back. That birthday had been more stressful as there had been a concert organised and she had sung one of the final acts. She hadn't enjoyed it, but she hadn't been angry about it either. It had just been another day in her life and she had spent the morning with Winter. She didn't remember seeing Whitely that day.

"A pearl necklace." Weiss kept that hidden in her room at Beacon. It wasn't a fashion statement, but those pearls had either cost a fortune that Winter hadn't had at the time or an immense amount of spare time. It had sentimental value, not for casual or formal wear.

"That was what Winter told me," General Ironwood accepted. He turned to Mercury and seemed to consider what to say.

"Taiyang got so furious with you after our long chats that he threatened to have you removed from Vale and even from the Atlas board through scandal."

Weiss blinked.

"Or I can summon my Guardian Form-"

"I would much rather you didn't," General Ironwood cut across him. "I'm satisfied." He tilted his head to Weiss. "I will see you at the wake." He turned on his heel and walked away with his guards.

Weiss wasn't surprised that her father had invited General Ironwood, even if there was no emotional reason for it.

She sighed. Then she took a deep breath and straightened her back. She glanced at Mercury, who had been waiting patiently. "Come. The limousine is outside."

"Is your house far?" Mercury had decided to be on his best behaviour. That was a relief and some of the tension went out of her.

"No. Only ten minutes by car. Many of the company meetings are in inconvenient places if one relies solely on the roads."

He did not comment.

The walk to the limousine was silent.

However, once they were in the limousine, Mercury glanced at the black window separating the passengers from the driver.

"It's soundproof. There is a switch to open communications. It is switched off for the moment." She double-checked and frowned. She switched it off. It was normally already off, but maybe it had just been forgotten about.

Mercury's eyes went back to her. "You never said. Why am I here? No more silence or dodging."

It was an odd choice. Weiss knew that. Many people would not invite someone's killer to their wake. However, she had come to some conclusions. She had always planned to ask a friend to go with her, but it had somehow come to him.

"I investigated other victims of this group in more depth. I spoke to Dr Waterbrook concerning what little you allowed him to share with me. I do not hold you responsible. I have also told no one else."

Dr Waterbrook had confirmed that psychological triggers were possible. They were difficult to 'install' in someone, even harder to detect one and thought to be impossible to remove. The victim had no control or way to fight it. He did not speak much on Mercury himself and only Mercury's 'key word' he told Weiss allowed the doctor to speak of relevant information pertaining to him.

A few times, she had met with a therapist. That did help.

He showed no response to that. "…It doesn't explain why I'm here."

It was odd. Weiss would have been far angrier if the situation had been the reverse; if her brother had killed her friend to protect her. She knew she would miss Mercury more than Whitely and, in a way, that saddened her. But it was fine.

Reality was easier to accept.

"I do not hold you responsible. However, I want you to fully understand the consequences. I want you to see some of Whitely's life. I want you to remember him."

Mercury studied her for a moment before his gaze went to out the window.

What she told Mercury may be the truth, but it wasn't what she was going to tell her father. After all this time, she was still a little uncertain on that. She spent the car travel thinking, but nothing sounded satisfactory to her mind, never mind her father's.

Her father was waiting for them outside the mansion.

Weiss let out a deep breath. She opened the door and stepped out, walking forward quickly.

"Father." She sensed Mercury stop behind her.

"Weiss. You are always free to come home, especially if you change your mind."

"I am happy with my current choices Father." She hesitated a moment to make sure she said the correct name. "This is Mercury Crawford."

Mercury offered his left hand, acting very sincere. "Good to meet you, sir."

Father shook his hand once, taking in every detail. His eyes lingered on the cufflink for a moment. "I feel the same. As I understand it, your team were the runners up. That is very impressive."

Weiss didn't react.

Mercury's expression didn't change. "We did get a little lucky in the match-ups at times. The doubles rounds was by far the hardest, save for the final match obviously."

"Indeed." Father barely glanced at Weiss. "I am at a loss to why you are here. Did you meet Whitely?"

"I'm afraid not."

Weiss spoke before he could continue. "Mercury has an aptitude for business and marketing. I did share some of Whitely's ideas with him under confidentiality, so he wished to pay his respects."

That had only happened once because it was convenient and he was the one she trusted for a second opinion on those matters, but the second comment was a lie. Mercury was here because Weiss asked him; nothing else.

Father turned back to Weiss. He looked calm, but she could see his anger. "I would not consider that wise."

Mercury again piped up with an honest and respectful tone. "The matter she discussed with me was the idea of using airships manned by Atlesian Knights to aid in shipments outside the Kingdoms and main lines. I grew up outside the Kingdoms away from any trade points, so I can comment on the benefits and disadvantages that most would not know."

Considering that point, Mercury was correct that he was the only one that qualified that Weiss knew of. Even her friends that had not had a permenant home, they stayed within cities and villages. Not even Blake had stayed in the wilderness after leaving the White Fang.

"Even so, it is a family business." Mercury tilted his head, but said nothing. Father waited a moment before continuing. "However, I can see the merit in your responses which I was completely unfamiliar with. Allies are very beneficial." He turned back to Weiss. "See our guest to his room. Have you considered staying home for the weekend?"

Weiss nodded. "I did consider it, but it is simpler for both of us if we return to Vale after the wake rather than the morning after."

"…Very well."

Refusing to show her relief the conversation was over, Weiss strolled with purpose inside. The foyer was just as she remembered. She took the stairs at a good pace and headed to the room farthest along the corridor; the room for liked guests rather neutral or disliked.

Good manners suggested that she open the door for the guest, tell him the details and leave him to sort himself out.

Instead, Weiss stepped into the room and held the door open for him. Once Mercury was inside, she shut the door behind him.

"Weiss, I've decided I don't like your father."

Weiss allowed herself a chuckle. "He can be very…trying."

"Trying. Not the word I would pick." He glanced around the room.

Honestly, Weiss thought that could have gone worse. She glanced at her watch. "I will collect you in an hour. We'll go straight to the meeting hall."

"No funeral service?" His voice was quiet like he was trying to be gentle, but she caught his uncertainty.

"The funeral was a week after his body was found. He is being cremated today but we will have left before that. My sister will be witness to that." Weiss couldn't do it.

Mercury frowned. "Sorry, it's just…I thought a wake happened before a funeral."

"It normally is. Just not this time." She sighed. "I don't believe Whitely will be discussed much today."

Mercury chose not to comment on that. "I'll be on my best behaviour. Am I going to know anyone there?"

"Other than General Ironwood, I don't know. If you'll excuse me…"

"Sure. I'll see you later."

The hallway was empty, much to Weiss' relief.

Her own room was only two doors down from this particular guest room. Her eyes lingered on the knight portrait for a moment. She turned away and walked towards her wardrobe, which contained a full length mirror. She took in her appearance.

Robotically, she began to 'doll up'.

She jumped at the knock on the door. Upon reflection, it wasn't Father's knock and it wasn't Klein's knock either. By elimination, it must be Mercury.

Weiss opened the door and was faced with her sister.

After a moment to process who it was, Weiss hugged her.

Winter returned the affection. "It's good to see you too, Weiss."

Weiss reluctantly let go and stepped back into her room. Winter followed her and closed the door behind her.

"Honestly Weiss, how are you doing?"

Weiss thought about it. She sat on her bed and pulled her hair out to redo. "I'm…okay. I came to terms with this some time ago. I just don't understand why, months later, the wound needs to be reopened. This is nothing more than a business act."

"I'm in agreement," Winter allowed. She went behind Weiss and began to do the plait for her. "That being said, Whitely deserved much better."

Weiss sighed. "I don't remember him too well. We stayed out of each other's way so much, I can't focus on the simple things. I never learned such things like his favourite food. I regret that. I wronged him."

"I'm much the same. I never kept in contact with him after I left here. We had different interests and beliefs, so we spoke far less. I last heard from him a year before…Before his disappearance."

Weiss almost winced. "The day I left for Beacon. He didn't approve. We had a heated discussion on the necessities of Huntsmen compared to an army of Atlesian Knights."

"He brought that up with me too. It's a shame. He had such high hopes for his future."

Weiss managed a smile. "That I did know. He was certainly ambitious. He didn't deserve this."

"No one does Weiss." Her hands moved back. "Is that how you want it or do you want it more on the side?"

Weiss considered. "I think that's good. I thought you were going to be at the wake?"

"I changed my mind," Winter replied as she studied herself in the mirror. "Whitely was my brother and family should come first, even if it is too late."

That was something that Weiss was guilty of also. "I know."

Winter smiled at her. She gestured to the nearby desk. "Jewellery?"

Weiss took a deep breath.

She just needed to get through tonight.

For Whitely.


	24. Uninvited Guests

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Mercury didn't know if Weiss meant this as a punishment, but if she did, it was a very good one.

At first, Mercury had thought he was going to be dealing with a hall full of Weisses for the evening. That would have been fine. He was actually dealing with worse than Weiss was when he first met her.

 _Although, I should have expected this when Weiss wanted the expensive jewellery in sight. It should have taken less than half an hour to click._

The only other expensive thing was the ring and that was hidden under his glove. To be fair, he wore it on his left ringer finger and that normally meant marriage. It was more of a loyalty ring to his three siblings than anything else and they all wore the same. Weiss obviously didn't want that topic brought up.

He was also going to assume she didn't want certain topics such as Whitely or Beacon shenanigans brought up.

Which brought him straight back to the question of what he was _supposed_ to talk about.

Then there was Weiss' comment to bring up the advanced course if he got asked. Why did people feel the need to prove themselves to these idiots who had never seen the real world?

 _I don't think Weiss thought this through well._

 _How am I supposed to_ avoid _an argument with this lot?_

Mercury had already decided he wasn't going to go looking for conversation. He stayed away from people against the wall. He had picked the side of the hall that had the most obnoxious people ever, so he wouldn't be bothered by most that could see him.

"Mr Crawford."

Except for him. "General Ironwood."

"You don't seem to be enjoying yourself."

Mercury looked at him. "I was under the impression this was a wake for Whitely. Why would someone be enjoying themselves?"

"…You shouldn't settle down in Atlas."

Seriously?

 _And I thought the magicals were bad. They were in living in a state of delusion. Are these guys living in a state of narcissism?_

Still, it was his experience with enduring magicals that would see him through this evening.

"I've no interest in Atlas, even before today."

Weiss wasn't really socialising. She stuck to her sister and her butler. Jacques Gelé (control freak) certainly didn't have any problem getting into a conversation with everyone. He also didn't seem to be discussing fond memories of his son.

"I see." Ironwood followed his gaze. "Has he interrogated you yet?"

"Not really. He made a few comments when I first arrived, but I'm sure...Klein ran interference later. I haven't spoken to the man at all since then. I'm trying to avoid him before I wind up causing a scene." Because there was no way that conversation wasn't descending into an argument.

"A smart idea." Ironwood was taking this a little too well for Mercury's liking. He expected him to be angry or defensive. He was acting more like Ozpin that Ironwood. "He can be very trying, but the Dust business is too vital to ignore."

"I'm not complaining about his business, but his parenting skills need work."

Ironwood gave him a very searching look then. "That is not for me to say. I trust that you do not intend to cause trouble here?"

"If it were up to me, I wouldn't be here at all. I'm just counting down the hours."

"Understood."

He might as well ask now. "I intend to take my final exam in two months. While Ozpin is happy for me to do that, he commented another headmaster needed to oversee the tests. Are you available then?"

Ironwood didn't like Mercury. He knew that and was fine with it. It was smart. But Ozpin had already proved he was sentimental and often acted with an agenda. Mercury wanted a more neutral person or even a negative one.

Headmaster Ironwood turned to look back at him. He considered for a moment. "I'm sure I can find time in my schedule."

"Thank you." He was supposed to be on his best behaviour.

Mercury had also learned by now that kindness and respect could get bonuses that confrontation and fear couldn't. Causing problems at a major event in Atlas was only going to cause problems down the road.

Ironwood nodded and moved off, now satisfied Mercury wasn't going to be a problem.

This time, Mercury wasn't going to complain about him showing up for the next Vytal Festival. Pepper being chased off by Talaria was something Salem couldn't have predicted. The heat sensors were something new as well. She just wasn't too bothered by that loss as Mercury's capture had been a nice consolation prize.

But a possible Spring Maiden right next to the Relic of Knowledge? That was just begging for trouble.

 _It might be best if we remove it from its resting place without anyone noticing. If Ozpin's predecessor was the one who built the schools, he probably knows where the Relic is held._

Maybe it was because Ironwood had spoken with him, but someone else came to him to talk. Mercury didn't recognise him but judging by his age, he was probably an heir to some business. He was dressed well, yet seemed to lack the same over the top clothing most adults here had.

"I haven't seen you at one of these before."

This was seeming more like a common meeting for important people and less a gathering for the dead. "I attended Beacon with Heiress Schnee before I started with the advanced course."

"Ah. I am Pedro Kindling."

'Kindling' did ring a bell, but Mercury couldn't place it. He'd look it up later. "Mercury Crawford."

"Crawford? I don't know that name." Not surprising as Mercury made it up. "Do you have a family history containing Huntsmen?"

"Not officially. My paternal history contains many strong fighters, but they were never proper Huntsmen. They mostly lived outside the Kingdoms and never bothered going in for their tests. A lot of people owe their lives to them." As the majority of his clients wanted the Blacks to eliminate an opponent and they did very well for themselves with the competition gone.

"So what made you different?"

"Honestly? The travel and the freedom. Isolation from the Kingdoms does come with downsides." Now he remembered Kindling. They were in charge of most of the trade routes between Atlas and Mistral. Which would make him vital for the company mining Dust.

"Yes, I can think of a few." Kindling Jnr glanced at Weiss, who was talking with someone. "You must have seen Weiss before your advancement. What is your opinion of her?"

Mercury thought about his answer. Then he thought about how to phrase his answer for this situation. "She is committed and a fine warrior. She is at the top of her class academically and only under one in battle." Officially, Emerald was lower in the rankings and Nora was about par. "However, she has a strong sense of responsibility and determination that is inspiring."

Kindling Jnr turned back to look Mercury in the eye. "Do you think she is suitable to run the Schnee Dust Company one day?"

Mercury almost shrugged, but caught himself in time. Again, he rephrased his comment before he said it. "I think so. She has earned my respect and the respect of many that tried to hate her when they first met her. She has the mind and drive to be a powerful asset or enemy."

"…An interesting answer. I think you have a bright future also." With that, Kindling Jnr walked away.

 _How did he get that from that response?_

Mercury didn't think more on it.

Some other people were becoming curious about him. This was not good for his being left alone.

 _So maybe, I need to get into a long conversation with someone else. And I have just the someone in mind._

As it happened, one of the men with her noticed him staring and he whispered to her. Penny looked over, smiled and waved at him. She almost trotted over to him. The two men, obviously bodyguards, came with her.

"Salutations Mercury."

"Hello Penny. Haven't seen you since the Festival. How'd you find it?" Mercury had never had a proper conversation with her other than saying 'hello', but he knew she was a good friend of Ruby's.

"Oh, it was fantastic. I learned a lot and Vale was wonderful. I would have loved to stay at Beacon though, even if Father wouldn't have allowed it."

Mercury tried to think back. Who had knocked Penny out of the tournament?

"I think Ruby would have liked that. What was your favourite?"

She bounced a little. "So, so much. I could talk about it all day."

Mercury chuckled. "Well, how about we find somewhere better and we do?" Because he was very sick of this place and if they wanted a long conversation, it would be better away from the party goers.

Penny's grin grew before it dropped. She glanced at the red helmeted guard. "Please?"

The guards exchanged a glance. Then they turned to her and nodded in unison. The blue one spoke. "Let me talk to the General and we will move."

That was a fair point. "Yeah, I should tell Weiss too." Weiss had invited him here, so she was probably responsible for him.

Weiss wasn't difficult to find. She was still with her sister and butler. Winter frowned a little when she saw him, but the butler gave him a respectful nod. Mercury returned it.

"Is there a problem, Mercury?" Weiss asked. Her eyes went across the room before returning to him.

"No, nothing's wrong. Me and Penny want to have a longer chat, so we're going to be going somewhere else for a while."

"Okay. There's a conference room down the corridor. Third door on the right."

"Thank you." That was a thanks to both the room and not complaining that he was ditching the 'wake' for a while.

Winter was giving him a very searching look, but Mercury didn't comment on it. He barely gave her a glance.

In Mercury's opinion, she couldn't really complain he was here, especially if she didn't know _why_ Weiss had really invited him. After all, there was no reason for Penny to be here.

Not one Mercury knew anyway…

Who was Penny's father actually?

 _None of my business. At least it gets me out of here._

Obviously, Penny's guards were going to be tagging along, but that worked in his favour. No one could complain he was up to no good. He needed to stay neutral in case he returned to Atlas for whatever reason.

It would be just his luck that something happened and something was putting him on edge. This evening was just unreal.

 _And I thought I had no conscience._

* * *

It felt good to be back in the field properly.

Tai wasn't going to deny he had missed this. Being a teacher, especially at a pre Combat School, was a heavy responsibility and his charges were very impressionable. He never took a job that was too dangerous and they were always local.

Of course, his idea of dangerous was a little different to most. STRQ had been the best team around once and Taiyang Xiao Long was their powerhouse.

The job was simple. Griffons had moved into the woods near a small village just outside Vale. It was thought there were far more than reported. That wasn't counting the small things.

There was a graduated team from Beacon that had taken this mission five minutes ago. Having read the brief, Tai was sure they would need help. He wasn't going to disengage, but maybe he would supervise.

"Children? That's what we have?"

Even if they didn't need help with the Grimm, they would need help with the mayor that ran the village.

The leader folded her arms. "We're capable."

Tai read the mayor's body language and decided to step in. "Is there a problem here?" He casually glanced around, noting the town hall was well maintained. He didn't see many leaflets or posters for village activities. Interesting.

The mayor looked him up and down, obviously not impressed. "And you would be?"

"Taiyang Xiao Long. Huntsman and teacher at Signal."

One of the boys from the team had opened his mouth, but at that he looked to his companions. They shifted and exchanged a significant glance. As one, they returned their attention to Tai.

 _Their mood changed fast._

"Then I leave this in your hands."

Tai shrugged. "Not sure I want to. I mostly gave up that life for teaching."

The man glared at him.

The leader of the kids spoke again. "Look, we know the job and where to go. You can't stop us, so don't try. We'll be back later."

 _I like these kids._

Taiyang shrugged and followed them out.

They hadn't gone far. They were consulting a map.

"This is the straight path. Quickest and easiest way."

Taiyang spoke up. "Also home to a pack of wolves." The team jumped and turned around, hands on weapons. "They keep the basic Grimm populations down, so no one goes into their territory. There's a path around that they steer clear of which most people take."

The four looked at each other. They looked at Tai.

"Are you Yang's dad?" One of the boys asked.

"Yes."

Again, they shared a look. Tai remembered those days well.

Only him and Qrow now.

He would have to tell Yang someday soon.

Tai returned his attention to the graduated kids when they turned back to him. The leader spoke again.

"Can you show us this path?"

"Sure, but I'll only help in the fight if you truly need it." No better teacher than experience. These kids would have been in the classroom when first year Mercury defeated four fourth years, so they would remember the danger of overconfidence.

"Thank you. We'll be fine on our own."

Mostly. "I don't doubt it."

Tai was going to be the one smoothing over things with this mayor though.

The sole reason he needed to be out was because he would drive himself mad worrying otherwise. Mercury wouldn't tell him why he was going, only that he needed to. Tai had pressed, but he hadn't budged. All he had said was that it was a meeting and not at all dangerous. That was all and it worried him.

Ironwood had messaged him that Mercury at arrived in Atlas fine and that he arrived at the meeting hall fine but…

Taiyang trusted Ironwood with a lot of things.

He just didn't trust him with Mercury.

* * *

Two hours passed.

Winter fielded most of the conversations, for which Weiss was grateful. These afternoons and nights had been taxing before, but tonight was even worse than normal. Was it because of Whitely or because her patience had thinned due to her enjoyed time at Beacon?

Mercury re-entered the ballroom. He might be her guest, but she was content he wouldn't do anything worrying. She did note that something was different, but when she realised that it was that the cufflink had been moved out of sight, she paid it no mind.

"Heiress Schnee."

Winter was standing right next to Weiss, but that address no longer applied to her. Weiss looked at the speaker, but didn't verbally acknowledge him.

"Young Miss Schnee."

"Yes?" Good manners were the main reason rivals could meet in these civilised discussions after all. She didn't like Stygian Tortuga, but he was someone she would likely have to deal with when she was older. It didn't help that he was only a year older than her, but acted like he was far superior.

"What did happen to Whitely? Information has been difficult to come by, so I'm starting to think there's something more to it."

Weiss scowled. But before she could sternly tell him what she would say to that, Winter put a hand on her shoulder. "Go talk to your friend Weiss. Myself and young Mr Tortuga will continue."

 _Gladly._

He sneered at Winter. "I was talking to the Schnee Heir."

"I was part of the team searching for him and General Ironwood himself conferred details to my satisfaction. Would you like to ask him?"

"Hmph."

Weiss turned her back on him and walked away with her head held high.

She was biting her tongue quite literally, so she couldn't be sure what she would have said to him. Whatever it would have been, it would have been very poor judgement.

That said, Winter wasn't wrong that she had been neglecting her guest-

Something was wrong.

Mercury was talking to someone Weiss didn't know the name of, but knew she was the wife of someone very influential. That was odd, but it wasn't the problem.

The problem was what happened next.

The Kindling Heir offered a wine glass. Mercury took it with a thank you. He then had a sip from it.

What.

Frowning slightly, Weiss had a much closer look at him. The cufflink wasn't in view, but seeing as he hadn't wanted it in view in the first place, he might have just got sick of people using it as a reference. His gloves might be a different shade, but then this was a different light and Weiss hadn't looked since her initial assessment. His hair was a little different when she could see the side of his head, but that was where his coyote ears would be so maybe he had done something because it was uncomfortable.

Something was off here, but Mercury drinking alcohol was plain _wrong._ He had once tipped a very expensive drink over Sage's head because he kept buying him rounds.

But had his experience as a captive changed that? According to BRN, his stepfather was an alcoholic. Perhaps the explanation was as simple as he picked up bad habits. If so, he needed a better coping tactic.

She didn't believe so though.

Mercury had always been fine. It had been his teammates that had changed before they began to return to their old selves.

Weiss' eyes found General Ironwood. Recalling what he said at the airship, she approached him. He was alone, which was very useful.

"General."

"Miss Schnee. How is your evening?"

"As expected." Weiss had not expected it to go well. "However, I have a question."

He smiled. "Very well. Go on."

"Why did you ask about people behaving oddly? Why wasn't a security check enough?" This led credence that she wasn't placing too much emphasis on something so simple.

His smile faded a little then. His eyes left her and scanned the room. He was on high alert. "I am not looking for forged documents, Miss Schnee. I am looking for forged people. Do you understand?"

 _Forged…people?_

"So someone acting out of character might not be that person at all?" Was that possible?

"That is classified Miss Schnee. I'm sure you could see some problems that would occur if that information was broadcast."

"I understand." Her gaze went to Mercury. Could that not be him at all? "May I ask you where Penny is right now? I can't see her."

"…Indeed. Excuse my poor manners for a moment." General Ironwood dialled a number on his scroll. "Where are you right now?"

Weiss was close enough to hear, but her confusion only grew at the reply.

"In the conference room three doors down sir. Is there a problem?"

General Ironwood's eyes went to Mercury now. "How is Penny?"

"Fine sir. She and her friend Mercury are discussing attractions in Vale."

How was Mercury both in the conference room three doors down and in the meeting hall within Weiss' sight?

"I see. Thank you. I would prefer it if they finished their conversation soon and returned."

"Yes sir."

General Ironwood hung up.

"I don't understand," Weiss stated again.

He was silent for a moment. "It is possible. Has he done anything unusual?"

"Yes." She didn't want to 'rat out' a friend, but if there were two Mercurys, one had to be a fake. The one she met at Beacon had to be real. There were too many individual factors to consider. This Mercury was strange in appearance and act. She believed this one was the fake.

"Very well. I am expecting trouble Miss Schnee, so be careful."

"General?"

General Ironwood moved away from the wall. Now tense and still confused, Weiss followed. She sensed trouble also.

"Mr Crawford."

It took a moment for 'Mercury' to answer to the name. "General Ironwood." He sounded like him, but it was his normal casual, almost condescending tone.

"I've found that some of my latest prosthetics have been having a certain problem with the core. May I check yours? It won't take a moment and there is no mechanic in Vale that is suitable."

'Mercury' didn't respond for a moment.

"I can hold your drink for you," Weiss offered. It was actually a question of what he was doing with it.

'Mercury' ignored her. He didn't spare her a glance. "I've had no problems."

"This is your first extreme temperature change, but it is possible to have a response in Vacuo also. It won't take a moment."

'Mercury' gave that cocky smile then. "And if I refuse?"

"I have to insist." Before anyone could stop him, General Ironwood grabbed his right arm. "I also insist you tell me your _real_ name."

"Real name?" The trophy wife asked. "I am beginning to think there is something wrong with you General."

The glove was ripped off.

The right arm was normal; not a prosthetic.

The door opened then. Penny and one of guards were the first ones through. Mercury was next and he pushed the door open enough for the second guard to enter behind him.

"What?"

Variations of surprise were drifting around the room.

Mercury ignored all of that. He walked without a care straight up to his doppelganger. "That's interesting. I wasn't expecting this place to have this kind of entertainment."

That was Mercury.

Weiss sighed. He was no longer on his best behaviour, it seemed. She would allow the situation called for it.

"What? No one ever told you about a twin brother?"

Mercury hummed. "No." Then he punched him across the room.

By the time Weiss realised what just happened, the man on the ground now looked _nothing_ like Mercury. He had black hair, was in his thirties and had the tell-tale black glow of shattered aura.

"But stranger things have happened." The real Mercury didn't look the slightest bit surprised.

Weiss was having words with him later.

General Ironwood held up a hand. He didn't take his gaze off the changeling, but Mercury visibly put his hands in his pockets. He backed up to Winter. She guided him in the corner with an unspoken 'stay there'. When Mercury nodded to her silent command, she approached the downed man.

Obviously they had been searching for a changeling for a while. How had they learned of it?

The building shook.

Weiss managed to keep her balance, but she was one of the few.

The changeling went for the door. Winter summoned a Beowulf, but one stab with a blade caused it to disappear. He vanished.

"I'll follow," Winter reported. She went after him.

The building shook again. There was a short but jolting drop.

The General was listening to a report on his scroll. Then he put it away. "Mercury, with Winter. Weiss, get to the base of the building. Stabilise it until everyone is out."

"On it." Mercury ran out.

"General-"

"Penny, stay with Weiss."

Weiss thought. She needed to be on the ground. The quickest way was through the window. They had already shattered, so that wasn't an issue. Stabilising the building might be a little difficult without Myrtenaster.

"Weiss, you are staying here."

"Father, I'm a Huntress. It is my duty." She didn't spare him a glance. "Come on Penny."

"Affirmative Weiss."

They were only on the tenth floor, so it wasn't a long drop.

When she landed, Weiss immediately saw the problem. The whole ground floor had bomb blasts within. Many of the supports were destroyed and those that were left would be destroyed soon.

"We need to strengthen those supports," Penny pointed. "But…I can't help there."

"You're not here to help with the building. My focus is on this, but that man might have friends or he might attack himself. I need you to protect me."

Penny saluted her. "Affirmative."

Penny had been knocked out of the tournament by Orion Shard's team. His teleportation had been vital against Penny, but everyone had focused on the rest of the teams. Ruby had spoken highly of Penny and Weiss was happy to have her as a guard.

Weiss turned to her problem. She didn't have any Dust so she couldn't just freeze it. However, she was a Schnee. Her Semblance was varied and she was intelligent enough to make use of it.

The damage done was extreme and the building would fall within a minute.

 _Okay. I know how to do this._

* * *

It wasn't difficult tracking Winter Schnee.

She hadn't held back and there was a lot of damage to the walls. However, he saw glyphs along them so they would hold until the place went down.

There was no doubt in his mind that the changeling had already left the building. He just needed to find the exit point before he could follow.

 _And there's the exit point._

Mercury jumped out and onto a neighbouring rooftop. He could make out a battle a few roads away and headed that way.

He wasn't surprised that the changeling still had his blood. Blood was quite easy to store and it took years to 'go off'. Zephyr had told him that there had been a thought of the changeling replacing him with a believable story of having escaped, but the Animin bond put an end to that. Ruby and Emerald would know it was a fake and, obviously, he hadn't learned any of his habits to fool anyone who had spent ten minutes in his company.

 _Seriously though? An alcoholic drink? Idiot. Why did he show up here though?_

A better question was going to be how to explain this to Tai and Qrow. Mercury really had the worst luck. They were going to stick him on a leash at this rate.

The prey he was tracking didn't have aura anymore. Mercury had seen to that. However, he had managed to destroy a Schnee summoning with a weapon Mercury was at the wrong angle to get a good look at. That was something to keep in mind.

An airship was holding steady outside one of the windows. That would be the safest way to evacuate.

 _Why's he looping back?_

For some reason, the enemy was heading back to the demolishing building. It hadn't fallen yet, but it would soon.

 _And a lot of influential and politically powerful people are in there tonight._

Mercury might dislike a lot of them, but they were necessary. Atlas might be quite isolated, but it was also quite important to the current state of affairs around the world. It would be quite inconvenient if they all died.

 _Me being there was quite a convenience for them actually. They probably would have ambushed whoever left first, but it was me. If that's the case though, why wait so long? If Ironwood called when he thought something was off, then what had they been doing for two and a half hours? Planting the bombs?_

Mercury hopped along. Winter was following him directly, but she couldn't try to attack long range as these were houses. There would be a lot of collateral damage. Mercury had left Pandora (his newly built, multipurpose weapon) in Patch, but he still had knives, his aura and his training.

 _So many options. What to do?_

There was no doubt in Mercury's mind he had accomplices. How many and where were they? He caught movement in the opposite windows, but he couldn't get a good look.

He needed to kill the changeling. He was far too dangerous for Salem to keep.

Mercury waited the corner before the meeting hall. As his prey came around, Mercury leapt down and spun. The axe kick took his head off. No one could have seen that.

Winter was only a second after. She wasn't surprised to see his work. "What do you think? You must have been our source for him."

"I don't know much except what I've already told. What I do know was that you wouldn't have got any info out of him."

"Perhaps, but this is rather final. Nothing to be done now. Let us return."

The airship began to pull away from the wall. Then Mercury saw a problem.

"Grimm hybrids."

He had been told his Guardian Form could kill them, but he didn't want to start a panic here. The Grimm might not be able to get into Atlas easily but in his opinion, civilians were far more annoying and he honestly didn't have the patience tonight. Though with how dark it was and how unlikely it was for a Faunus to be on that ship, he would probably be fine.

A single leap and he was back on the rooftops again.

These hybrid Grimm didn't ignore him. The ones with wings went for the airship and those without went for him. His response was to create the winged fox and send it after the hybrids in the air. He battled the ones on the roof.

 _Got to give them points for stubbornness, but this is just disappointing. Must not have been fighters when normal, but Salem or whoever organised this probably wasn't expecting much resistance._

The silver Dust knives made very quick work of them.

The winged fox took a little longer, but they were all dead before the airship touched the ground. Maybe he had put a little too much aura into it, but no harm done.

Then he saw exactly how Weiss was holding up the building. "Well. That'll do."

Mercury had been told of Schnee summonings. It was very impressive to see it in action.

There were two white Boarbatusks balancing beams and supports. For those that needed more, there were three white Beowolves. Weiss was sitting in the middle, eyes closed and meditating.

"Salutations Mercury!" Penny waved. He was honestly more interested in the three people he didn't recognise unconscious near her, but he would let that slide for now. Qrow would keep him in the loop.

"Hey Penny. I can see your evening has been productive."

"Oh most certainly."

Winter made a glyph in her hand. Two white Boarbatusks and three white Beowolves appeared. She walked forward and put a hand on Weiss' shoulder. Weiss opened her eyes and looked at her.

Mercury could see she was shaking.

The white Grimm began to switch places.

Seeing Gelé approach them, Mercury immediately got in his way. Just to annoy him a little more, Mercury didn't talk to him. Ironwood had moved away from the crowd at the sight of him and Winter.

"General? We'll be leaving soon."

Ironwood had his gun. Looked like Mercury hadn't been the only one to bring weapons to a wake. "I understand and agree. Thanks to your efforts, this airship hasn't been damaged, so it will return you home."

"Thank you."

Gelé didn't like that. "I'm going to have a word with my daughter."

"No you're not." Mercury still didn't look at him, but waited until the Schnee sisters were clear of the building. Weiss looked exhausted and he didn't want her to deal with her father right now. "I'm being selfish and deciding to head back now."

"That is a good idea," Winter agreed. She guided Weiss to him, who was a little unstable on her feet. Mercury was going to guess she had never summoned before and had drained herself. He couldn't sense her aura as he gently took her arm.

"I'll see her back to Beacon safe."

"Make sure you do."

"That is not how we do things in Atlas." Gelé sounded furious. Mission accomplished.

Ironwood looked very unhappy about this fact. However, he still spoke calmly. "I am a personal friend of Mr Crawford's stepfather," _usually,_ "and both are registered at Beacon. They have committed no crime and are beyond our jurisdiction. I have no want or reason to delay them."

"I have reason to."

"You would trust the word of a face-changer over actual evidence Mr Schnee? I would take that personally."

So the changeling had had a chance to talk to people. What had given him away so soon?

Weiss glanced at him, a question in her eyes. He tilted his head a little, but didn't move otherwise.

The changeling did know that Mercury had killed Whitely.

Weiss nodded properly in return. "General, we are ready to leave."

"Excellent. Good luck for your exams at the end of the year. Mr Crawford, I will liaison with Professor Ozpin for a suitable time, if that is acceptable with you."

Mercury shrugged. "Just let me know in enough time that I can change my schedule if I need to."

"Of course."

"And nice to meet you properly Penny."

Penny bounced on her heels. "It was good to meet you too Mercury. Say hello to Ruby for me."

"Will do."

Ignoring everyone else, Mercury guided Weiss onto the airship. The pilot then took off immediately, leaving Ironwood to sort out the political mess of the night.

 _No problems with me killing a guy that can mimic people then? It did take months to find him._

Weiss fell asleep before they even reached the ocean.

 _Interesting. Did they plan to kill everyone there? Rather unlikely as Winter, Weiss and Ironwood would have been enough even if there would have been more damage without me there. What then was the goal?_

 _There were no guards at the wake save those who stuck with Penny, so they were stationed elsewhere. Numbers are a powerful asset alone and no Huntsmen appeared to help or hinder, so they may have already had assignments. Especially with most working in the military. The would be in key positions around Atlas._

 _So. What did they get from tonight?_

 _Ironwood can debunk any ideas about me killing Whitely. He can prove I was in no condition to. He wouldn't believe it even if I told him. That story is not going far._

 _He's probably going to get taken to task by Tai too. At least it's not just me._

 _The changeling could have tried the Faunus route as his ears would have been fine like the arm was. He chose to run immediately rather than try and sow discord. It was the smarter move short term, but not long term._

 _They couldn't have known I was there as Weiss herself only made the decision last week and only told her Father and the General on Thursday. So I'm not a factor which means he had been carrying my blood on him for quite a while. Wonderful._

 _No White Fang there. They would have been the perfect scapegoats and I think Adam would have enjoyed it. So where are they and what are they doing?_

The pieces were there. What was the plan and what was opportunity?

 _I have a plan to deal with Tyrian. Hazel and Watts might be a little trickier. I get the feeling Watts isn't a fighter and I didn't get a good read on Hazel. There's also the question of who, if anyone, normally sat in those empty chairs._

The war might be with Salem, but did she ever go to Remnant? Ozpin had said she remained in her domain which was part of the reason this war had gone on so long. Salem herself wasn't the problem. The problem was the lieutenants.

When they landed in Beacon, Weiss still hadn't woken up.

Mercury gave her a gentle shake, but she didn't stir.

 _Oh well._

He picked her up carefully, looking for any sign she would wake. He didn't find one. Fortunately the dorms weren't far and he knew JMP would have waited up for her.

Then he decided he was going to sleep in the dorm room. The way his luck was going tonight, someone would try to mob him on the way back home. He couldn't be bothered with that.

JMP opened the door at his gentle knock with his shoe. Mercury lay Weiss down carefully on her bed. Jaune patted his shoulder and the others whispered goodnight. He did the same.

Not even Emerald stirred when he entered their dorm room.

Seeing the girls curled up in the double bed, he took one of the singles. He would be gone before they woke up anyway. He sent a message to Qrow and settled down for what was left of the night.


	25. A Life Changing Week

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Monday.

This year, second years went on their mission four weeks before the end of the school year.

The trio had talked a lot about what they wanted to do. The location wasn't difficult; they wanted to be out of Vale, they would be in Mistral next year for the tournament and Atlas was Atlas, so Vacuo it was. Deciding on their job was much harder.

Most other students were heading to big cities and/or villages. Ruby however chose a little village around a hundred miles outside the official Vacuo borders. It was just starting up but the buildings and defences were there. The only thing missing were the civilians.

A few civilians were retired Huntsmen and Huntresses so they should be fine. They had decided to allow a single team from a Combat School to stay there for a few days for the experience. They had initially wanted a team from Shade, but none of them wanted the mission. APRT, the only other first year team to qualify for the previous Vytal Festival and who they fought in the first round, had recommended them.

Ruby had liked the look of it and the other two had shrugged with an air of 'why not'. So that was where they were going.

Mercury wasn't going to be with them this time. He was doing his final exams over the next few days.

Ruby wished him luck. If Initiation was anything to go by, he would need it.

The airship opening was enough to have Ruby wishing for transportable air conditioning. Vacuo was hot. And they hadn't even stepped out into the elements yet.

Emerald had insisted they pack light and summer clothing, though she kept to t shirts. Yang had certainly done so, enjoying crop tops and shorts. Ruby hadn't managed to find many combat skirts suitable, but she had enough for a few days. A great perk to bottomless and weight free backpacks; there's always room for more.

As much as she wasn't looking forward to it, she needed to go clothes shopping if she wanted to return to Vacuo for any longer. Especially if she came here in their summer.

"Right Remedy! Let's get to it!"

Yang punched her fists together. "Oh yeah!"

Emerald rolled her eyes with a fond smile.

Unlike most other teams, they didn't have a professor sent along with them. The local Huntsmen had volunteered to watch over them. REY didn't have any problems with that.

First objective: get to the village.

Which, when looking at the map, may be harder than first appeared.

"Is it a good idea to build a village in a dead end of a canyon?"

"Depends on their defences," Emerald stretched. "And if there are such things as escape tunnels. The problem there will be stopping the Grimm from accessing those tunnels."

"Then a hatch," Ruby offered. "That will keep the weaker and younger Grimm out. Making the hatch control small will mean that the older Grimm smart enough to figure it out won't be able to do anything about it."

"Before we go too far in this," Yang interrupted with a happy smile. "How about we get to the village first? They might already have trapdoors in the canyon walls."

"Right!" Ruby returned her attention to the map.

 _If we're here and that's where we need to be…Then that path might take us there but that path might be a shortcut or that might be a cliff…Or we might be over here…_

"Ruby, when was the last time you had to read a map?"

"Last week. In Dr Oobleck's class."

Emerald rolled her eyes. "That doesn't count."

"Then never. Until I met you, I hadn't been far from home." She had already told them that before, but it needed repeating.

"I seem to recall an entire class with Professor Peach when she did nothing but talk about how to read a map."

Ruby pretended she didn't hear that.

Because Emerald did have a very good point.

Why didn't maps come with a 'you are here' marked on them?

 _How close do we have to get before our scrolls get signal again?_

"Hey!"

Yang had plucked the map out of her hand. She hummed, glanced around and studied the map again. "Okay. So we're here. So we need to go south." Yang looked around. "Except that the first landmark telling us we're going the right way is in a mile."

 _Where are Eris's aura animals when you need them?_

Talaria was with them, in Ruby's hood. They could send her.

Emerald pointed. "South's that way. Worst comes to worst, you can use the sunset. Which is in about ten hours."

"Alright then." Ruby pointed in the same direction as Emerald. "Let's get going."

Yang saluted and started walking.

Talaria flapped her wings (giving Ruby a much needed breeze) and took off into the skies.

The trio fell into step easily.

"Are either of you struggling with that essay for Dr Oobleck?" Ruby asked.

"Which part?" Emerald asked. "The part with Atlas or the part with Mantle?"

"The part with Atlas, actually. I mean…How did a country that didn't need many warriors because there were no Grimm somehow form a military strategy?"

Yang thought about that. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't what the essay was on."

"Well, technically it's not but that's the next step right?"

Emerald shook her head. "And that's probably going to be in the next lesson. Personally, I looked up military protocol and used that as a reference. Can't remember the book off the top of my head, but I know where in the library it was. It's almost certainly checked out by now."

The essay wasn't due until after the holidays so Ruby wasn't too worried. She was just confused. "So he's not looking for the time in-between? He just wants now and how it might have started?"

"Yep," Yang replied. "He wasn't clear about it though. I had to ask him to spell it out when I passed by his classroom."

That did make it easier. "Right but does that include the school and military-"

Talaria flew down and hovered in front of Emerald. She hissed at her in what Ruby now associated with Parseltongue.

Ruby and Yang stayed quiet as Emerald hissed back. Talaria responded again.

 _How did people find this so creepy? It's so cool._

Emerald sighed. "Talaria says there's someone lying very still not too far from here."

"Best go check on them," Yang replied almost cheerfully. Her attention went to Talaria. "Which way?"

Talaria flicked her tail and began to fly. She had finally found the right speed for the three to follow at a run.

The heat started to get to Ruby though. "How far Talaria?"

There was a response.

"Talaria says 'flat rock to house'," Emerald translated.

Ruby scanned her surroundings. There was nothing in the way and the rocks weren't too large so if she aimed up before continuing. "Is it in a straight line?"

"Yes."

"I'll go on ahead then." Getting an agreement from Emerald, Ruby triggered her Semblance.

'Flat rock to house' was very simple and self-explanatory. Ruby knew that distance, even if she didn't know the actual measurements, and so knew exactly when to drop out of the petals. But she stopped about a second too early on purpose.

 _Don't rush in. If you can, evaluate then act._

She might not have time to evaluate from what Talaria had said but she needed to start thinking like a leader and a Huntress.

Ruby landed in a crouch, glancing around.

Nothing.

Just the slight breeze and complete heat. Two cacti and a few tiny rocks.

 _No Grimm. Almost certainly no one else nearby._

With no dangers around, Ruby dashed to the person in the sand. He looked a little older than her, maybe twenty something. He was dressed in shorts and no shirt. She knelt next to him and had a look.

 _He's breathing. Okay. Don't see any blood so he might not be injured. He's almost certainly dehydrated. Heat stroke maybe? He looks burned. Maia would have a better idea._

Ruby dropped her bag next to her and routed around in it for one of the ten water bottles she carried. Finding it easily, she found unscrewing it was much more difficult. She wrapped her shirt a little around the cap and tried again. A little effort and it was off.

Carefully, Ruby began to pour the water over the burned skin. Then over the not yet burned skin.

 _I should have brought Maia with me._

Ruby knew they taught 'field medic' in Beacon, but not until next year. She thought that was a mistake but to be fair, the team would normally have a professor with them.

Was Ruby supposed to move him? They needed to get him to a hospital and fast. Ruby had no idea where the nearest hospital was or how to get to it.

 _Okay. If Emerald says it's okay, Yang can carry him. Talaria can search from the sky for settlements. If she doesn't see any, we take him to the village where we know we can get scroll signal. If we can't move him, I run to the nearest village and send help. No, I go ahead to get help either way. I don't know where I am but I know the direction from where Yang pointed on the map. If not…_

Ruby glanced around. Were there any landmarks?

The answer was no.

She checked her scroll again. Still no signal.

Seeing that his skin was dry again, Ruby poured the rest of the water bottle.

 _Maybe I should get him to drink some._

Emerald finally arrived.

"Next time Emerald, you're coming with me."

Emerald nodded. "Yeah, I realised that just after you took off." She came forward swiftly and knelt down, placing a hand on his back. She closed her eyes and focused. "…Right. Dehydration. You did the right thing there Ruby." Ruby sighed in relief. "There's not much I can do for him except stabilise him and stop the rest of the skin from burning. The dead skin will have to be peeled off before I can repair it, but best to find shade for that."

Yang studied the map again. "There's no settlements marked on this." Talaria returned from the sky and shook her head. "Talaria can't see one either."

"Then we go to our destination," Ruby stated. "That's not on the map either and we know it's there. Do you know where we are and where we need to go?"

Yang's finger traced across the map. Then she tapped it. "Yeah. Got it. Southeast."

Emerald's free hand went up and pointed. "That way."

"Right," Ruby nodded. "Can we move him?"

"Yeah, he's mostly fine save for dehydration and a lot of burns. Unfortunately, it's dehydration and is very fatal in the middle of a desert."

"I've got some sunscreen in my bag," Ruby offered. They all did but it was worth mentioning.

Yang carefully picked him up and balanced him on her shoulder. "Bit late for this guy, I'm afraid."

Emerald shook her head slightly. "No, it'll be fine after I re-grow the dead skin if I can scrape it off. He got any ID on him?"

"Not now," Ruby stated. "Let's get moving. We'll stop at the first bit of shade. Artemis, how far is the village?"

Yang considered. "At least three hours."

"Then we had better get going."

The walk was quiet. They made a steady and strong pace. After about five minutes, Ruby started to get a headache, so she lifted her hood up. That helped a lot. Yang's free hand moved her hair over her shoulders. Emerald was unaffected as far as Ruby could tell. She was walking with her eyes closed; feeling the environment.

She began to drift off course a bit. Ruby and Yang followed her, keeping careful track of how they drifted off track.

Twenty minutes later, Talaria chittered. She raised her claw in the direction Emerald had picked.

Ruby caught sight of a huge, widely branched tree through Crescent Rose's scope.

"There. We'll stop there."

"Good," Emerald muttered. She opened her eyes again. Once under the shelter, she carefully took the man from Yang's grip and laid him down again. "Let's see…" She drew one of her weapons, blade out.

Yang must have seen Ruby's wince. "Keep a lookout Ruby."

Ruby nodded. After a moment's thought, she hopped up into the branches for a better view. Quick reflexes had her catching a water bottle before it hit her. "Thank you." She chugged down half of it immediately.

Mercury could use his aura to protect him against extreme temperatures. Could she learn how to do that or was that only Aura Wielders or only Mercury?

 _I wonder how he's getting on._

Ruby kept looking around. She couldn't see much in the way of life. Just a lot of sand and dirt. No animals, not even birds, or people. It was actually quite depressing. Nothing like home. There was life everywhere there.

 _What was this guy doing out here in the middle of nowhere?_

Emerald had said he was going to be fine, so Ruby knew he would be fine.

"All done Ruby!" Yang called up. With a casual swing of her legs, Ruby hopped down. "And remember, we found him like this. He wasn't burned or anything."

Ruby couldn't see any burned skin at all. He looked perfectly healthy. "Of course he wasn't." Ruby didn't want to bring unwanted attention to Emerald. While Ruby would use healing on any who asked or needed it, the power was Emerald's and she was the one who decided how to use it.

"Do you still think he needs a hospital?" Because that was something they needed to keep in mind.

Emerald thought about it, then nodded. "Probably a good idea. I've fixed the short term damage and I can't sense anything wrong, but there are lifelong effects that can result from this. He still needs a hospital."

Ruby offered Emerald an unopened bottle of water from her bag. She took it with a grateful smile and swallowed over half of it.

"We'd best get going then. We've got a few hours to go and this detour probably added time."

"It would be a good idea to duck into any shade we can find."

"Agreed," Yang smiled. Again she picked their new companion up. "So which way now?"

/

Mercury decided to wait until after the first class of the day started before heading to the Headmaster's Office. That gave him time to deal with anything if it came up. With so many teams leaving on their missions, it was a possibility. However, there was no 'now is a bad time message', so he assumed all was well.

As expected, Ironwood was in there too.

"Headmasters," Mercury greeted.

"Mr Crawford," Ozpin nodded. "Are you sure you wish to continue?"

"Yes." Because at this point, he had put far too much effort into this course and he could leave Vale at the start of the next school year. "So what exactly is this final test?"

"Mane Graduation. There are three parts to it," Ironwood stated. "The first part is written tests. There are four exams: one for each Kingdom. Each exam is six hours long, with all four spread over two days. The qualities tested include prioritisation, dedication, memory and determination. We also wish to know that you understand the different Kingdoms and nearby areas."

 _Going to tell me each part just before I do it? More fun for me. And I'm pretty sure this also tests for stubbornness._

Six hours each? Mercury had spent longer than that researching topics and it was difficult for most to remain focused for that long, especially on paperwork. This was a necessary skill, particularly when tracking down bounties, so he wouldn't complain much.

"Okay. What sort of exam? Normal questions or essays?" Essays were not fun to write and frankly, Mercury was very sick of them.

"Both," Ozpin answered. Typical. "You need to complete two exams today, but you can choose the order you wish to complete them. You have an hour between the exams."

Strict timetable and need to balance work with physical demands. Relevant so far. Mostly.

Hang on. "So I can pick two Kingdoms I know best and revise for the other two tonight?" There wouldn't be much time to, but it was a possibility.

"If that's what you wish. However, you are required to remain on school campus, specifically in your dorm except for meals in the cafeteria. You can study from whatever notes you have there, but you are not allowed in the library or to use other students' work. If you talk to anyone, you cannot tell them anything about any of the tests."

 _Interesting. I keep it secret, they can test the next one as fairly as they did me. No wonder I couldn't find any reference to these tests anywhere other than the fact they existed._

"I accept that." He didn't have any notes in his dorm and he doubted the girls' notes would be too useful as they had yet to study many of the subjects. He couldn't revise much for any of them, but he wasn't worried. "Today, I'll start with Vale and do Vacuo afterwards."

"If you'll follow me." Ironwood gestured to the lift. Ozpin rose as well, obviously tagging along.

 _Okay. We're going somewhere I won't be disturbed and cannot cheat. Simple enough._

Except that they stopped halfway down the tower.

The lift doors opened to reveal something like a classroom. Eight desks scattered around the room with a ninth one obviously for a teacher at the far end. From that angle, they could easily keep an eye on all of the others. A stack of papers rested on it. There was no other furniture, but the entire back wall was a window.

Mercury had honestly forgot about this room, but then it had only been seen for a minute after Ruby decided to hit all the buttons in the lift after the dance.

"Why eight desks?"

"It's the most that's ever been needed." Ironwood stepped in and settled behind the teacher's desk. He opened a drawer and placed another, larger stack of papers down.

Ozpin placed a hand on Mercury's shoulder. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Mercury stepped forward. He looked at the papers that had been in the drawer and wasn't surprised to see it was his test. There had to be around thirty pages in it, if not more. "Any desk?"

"Any desk," Ironwood confirmed.

"No clock?" Mercury didn't need one, but a lot of people didn't have his timekeeping. It was odd it was missing.

"That is part of the test. You may be on a deadline and not have access to one." He held out his hand. "Scroll."

Mercury dug into his pocket and handed it over without a fight. He would complain if the man started to get into it, but from the look of another stack of papers that was hidden behind his test, Ironwood was going to use this to catch up on his own paperwork. Mercury picked up his exam and selected a desk that was in the sunlight, but not at an angle the sun would be in his eyes. He would probably need to pick a different desk later.

The lift doors closed.

Ozpin was almost certainly returning to his office.

"You can start when ready Mr Crawford."

Rather than jump straight into it, Mercury chose to look through the paper first.

 _Let's see…Questions on laws, traditions, festivals new and old, history and current politics. Nowhere near as bad as it could be. This is just going to take ages. Six hours is not looking very generous. These questions also want focus on instinctive and base knowledge. Makes sense; it would take months of revision to do this properly and they don't give you that._

The last question was an essay on the inaccuracies of one of the questions on this paper, which he had to figure out himself.

Mercury picked up the pen and began to write.

/

The village was exactly where it was supposed to be.

Ruby had used her Semblance in short bursts of five minutes. They had a rough idea where it was but weren't completely sure. She had memorised the route for inside the canyon, so she could leave the map with the other two.

As she ran around what should be the final corner, she found a man waiting there. He was dressed for combat, had a sword gun and ammo in a belt over his shoulder. She jogged to a stop.

"Mr Soarlane?" He was who they were supposed to be meeting and he looked like the man in the photo.

"That's me. Miss Rose, is it? Where's the rest of your team?"

Ruby caught her breath. "They're…They're coming slower. We found someone unconscious in the desert. I ran on ahead."

His face turned serious and his tone hardened. "How far back are they?"

"About twenty minutes. We didn't want to risk him with my Semblance."

"Come with me." He turned on his heel and headed down the canyon at a good pace. Ruby trotted after him. "How does he look? Does he have burned skin and crusted lips?"

"I didn't get a good look. My teammate thought we could move him and I said I would go on ahead. They still have the map so they won't get lost."

It wasn't buildings the way Ruby thought of them. They looked like very specialised and multi-compartment tents. The tops were different shapes, but there were far less pointed tops than round ones. Some had two 'rooms' while others had three. Those were glass windows though and the doors were proper doors; not a tent flap entrance.

They were heading to the biggest one directly in the centre of the settlement, right next to the well. The sheets were green and weren't flapping in the wind. The windows were tinted and it had five 'rooms'.

"Is this a hospital?" Ruby asked. It was certainly a medical tent, but how sophisticated was it?

"Yes. It doesn't have any complicated machines yet, but it can deal with someone lost in the desert. Do you know who he is?"

Ruby shook her head. "No. He's not carrying a scroll or any other ID. There was no one else around either. Is there anyone missing?"

"I haven't been told of it but we'll talk to Corona. She'll know."

Inside the tent/building was very cool. And cold compared to outside. There were mats and bean bags on the floor. There were even toys for younger children. The ground almost felt like sand as it shifted a little under her weight, but it was firm and didn't move as much as sand. There was only one way to go and that was the way Mr Soarlane was heading. Oddly enough, this door opened the way a tent did; able to unzip.

The next room was a bit bigger than the last. There was an examination table in the middle and wooden cabinets with glass doors along the wall. There wasn't much else.

Oddly, there were two other connecting doors.

"Why are there two doors?"

"One is an isolation ward. The idea is that we can separate people with contagious diseases until they can be treated. That way leads to two connected rooms of wards."

"Why two?"

"We can use the far room for someone who needs to be here for a few days and we don't need to send them to a different hospital. Broken bones or weapon discharges. The closest room is for overnight observation and somewhere to put a patient if we need this room for someone else."

Ruby circled around the room.

It wasn't big, but it didn't feel small. But when Ruby counted the steps, it was only the size of her living room.

 _I suppose this isn't a big village with many people._

Mr Soarlane frowned. He peeped his head into the 'isolation' room. His confusion wasn't solved and he walked over to the other side to disappear into the connected rooms. Two seconds later, he appeared.

"Corona's in the back ward with Honey. I'll wait with them. You go to the entrance of the canyon to wait for your team. Bring your guest here."

"Yes sir."

Ruby quickly exited, making sure to close the door behind her.

She nearly ran straight into someone. Luckily, she managed to react in time.

"Umm…Hi."

The boy was about eight or nine. "Whatcha doing here?"

"I'm a Huntress. I'm here to help until the fun but banned and dangerous stuff gets here." Children were here already. Ruby hoped they were to stay in the village until everyone was sure they were safe. "Sorry, but I need to wait for my friends."

"Can I come?"

Ruby smiled at him. She shook her head slightly. "Sorry, but I'm going to the edge of the canyon. I don't think you should leave the village yet."

He crossed his arms and pouted, puffing his cheeks out. "I'm tough. I'd be fine."

"I don't doubt it, but I don't want to get you or me into trouble."

"I won't get into trouble."

"I will. I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay," he chirped back and ran off.

Remembering herself at that age, Ruby decided to check over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't following.

 _Although…I do still do that when Uncle Qrow leaves home sometimes._

The little boy didn't follow her out of the village.

Emerald and Yang still hadn't arrived. There was no sign of Talaria either.

 _They're fine. It's just taking them a while to get here. Maybe I shouldn't have gone this far ahead…It would be a good idea if the situation was far worse but Maia says he's fine so he is._

A thought popped into Ruby's head. She checked her scroll. She had full bars of signal.

 _Okay, so we can call for help if something goes wrong this week or even if they just need more supplies. If there are children here, then they must feel quite safe from the Grimm. I didn't see any tunnels into the dark in the rock and I was really looking. I think I saw a couple digging through one of the dirt patches where there was no sand. Dad has bags like that sometimes, so something to do with gardening?_

Ruby didn't know how long she was brooding and thinking for, but finally Emerald and Yang appeared. The man was still unconscious.

"They've got a medic tent; we're supposed to bring him there."

"Lead the way," Yang replied, shifting her weight a little to balance better.

Talaria landed on Ruby's shoulder and chittered. She tapped her claw carefully.

[Ally pack? Threat?]

"They're not a threat." Ruby moved one of her straps cautiously to avoid an accidental tear. "They're fine."

"So let's get going," Emerald stated.

Ruby nodded and began to backtrack through the canyon. Emerald and Yang followed after.

It might just be Ruby, but Emerald felt a little more guarded than normal. But then, maybe it was just because she was back in Vacuo and she had bad memories of it. Or maybe it was something she sensed as a Maiden. There wasn't as much life here to sense as back home and maybe that was putting her more on edge. Or maybe there was nothing wrong with her and she was just seeing things.

Ruby would keep an eye on her.

It was probably nothing too bad.

When they reached the village, the unconscious man was rushed into the tent.

Rather than get in the way in what could be a genuine emergency, the trio scattered around the village and tried to be as helpful as possible. They were here to help, after all.

* * *

Tuesday.

Yang yawned, stretching out.

They had spent the rest of yesterday running simple errands for the adults in the village. Ruby had spent quite a bit of time playing with the children. They had even carved a 'corner' out for football; both kinds. Yang's favourite had been helping to dig the field they had marked out for vegetables.

Today, there was supposed to be a lot of resources arriving from the Vacuo Kingdom including tools, food and building material.

They had been given one of the spare 'guest' tents to sleep in. Yang was honestly surprised how much like a house it was. They couldn't feel the sand underneath them, the two rooms were actually nicely cool and the sun was almost blocked out when the curtains were across so it was possible to sleep in until a better hour of the morning.

Yang thought she could settle down here if she tried to, if it was a little more interesting but then Vacuo was supposed to be 'interesting'.

Talaria chittered at them before she took flight. She settled in Ruby's hood, somehow finding space even though she kept it up to protect her from the sun. She curled up and kept out of sight.

Their first stop was the medical tent.

The trio slipped into the 'waiting room' quietly. Ruby did knock for the examination room. "May we come in?"

The door opened like a normal door. How did that work?

A middle aged woman stepped out, tightening the sleeves on her work shirt. Oddly enough, while she was the definition of smart-casual, she wasn't dressed for the normal Vacuo heat. "You are the visiting team, correct? The ones who found Mr Coal?"

Yang didn't know a Mr Coal, but there was only one person she could be referring to.

"Mr Coal?" Emerald asked. "Is he awake?"

"He is and would like to see you." She held the door open. "I must ask that you keep it brief."

"Is he okay?" Ruby asked as they stepped through.

"All things considered, he is doing very well. It could be a lot worse." Yang mentally complimented Emerald, but didn't say anything. "But he does need his rest."

"We only want to check he's fine." Emerald replied.

Yang was far more curious than that. How did this guy wind up in the middle of the desert, nowhere near as badly hurt as he should be considering he must have been there for at least hours? Was he alone or had he been with others?

"As I said, keep it brief." She waved her hand in a shooing motion. When Emerald opened the door, the woman made no attempt to follow.

Ruby and Yang went straight to the occupied bed. Emerald seemed to linger behind for a moment.

"Mr Coal?" Ruby started, almost hesitantly. She wasn't sure what to say. "How are you feeling?"

He did look better, Yang thought. There was more colour on him and some of the red was beginning to fade. The freshly, forced grown skin was looking healthy from what Yang could tell.

Of course, the reason that Emerald was so good…

Yang had triple checked her backpack that morning. The well in the village was connected to an underwater source: a lake at the end of underwater streams that collected a lot of rainfall from mountain ranges. In other words: refill water bottles as needed and wanted. Sunscreen and sunblock were a must and easy to find. The bags might be bottomless, but they still needed to find the stuff they put in it. The more stuff in it, the harder it was to find what you're looking for. Yang only kept essentials in her bag and left everything else in the 'tent'.

Yes, she was being a little paranoid but she was dedicated on nothing happening this trip. Preferably ever but definitely not on this trip.

"Much better," Mr Coal smiled. "I understand you were the ones who found me?"

"Yes sir." Ruby looked like she wanted to say something else, but after a soft sound of some sort, stayed quiet.

"Then I'd like to thank you." Mr Coal studied Ruby for a moment before continuing. "There wasn't anyone else with me."

Ruby relaxed a lot. Her worry last night had been that he had been with someone and they had missed them.

Emerald was being oddly quiet.

Yang scratched the back of her neck. "Can I ask what you were doing out there? Grimm hunt?"

"It was an airship problem I had to manually fix. As you didn't find the airship, I know they made it and are safe."

"Definitely no sign of an airship crash."

"Then it was worth it."

The woman from before entered then. "Okay, that's enough."

"Okay," Ruby replied cheerfully. She waved to the man on the bed. "Good to see you better Mr Coal."

"Good luck Remedy. And again, thank you."

"Take care."

All's well that ends well.

Yang stretched out in the sunshine. "Right. Entrance to the canyon." She checked her scroll. "We've got twenty minutes."

"Plenty of time," Ruby nodded. "Though it would be better to arrive sooner rather than later. Maybe if we're both early, we'll start early."

Yang hummed. She glanced at Emerald. "What do you think?" It was a silly question, but Yang had noticed how quiet Emerald had been. She certainly wasn't a chatterbox but something was off.

Emerald shrugged. "Why not?"

"Are you okay?"

"Nothing wrong yet."

"Do you have a problem with Vacuo? Or this village in particular? Because it's a little unfair as this village has only been here for a few weeks."

"A select few people in Vacuo that are going to stick to the bigger cities if they're still alive. Don't worry about it unless they show up. Which they shouldn't."

Ruby frowned. "What kind of people?" She dropped her voice. "People you've stolen from?"

Emerald hummed. "…Nah, they didn't really care in the end; I never took much. They almost respected me for my skill. No, I really pissed off someone else. Crime boss sort of thing."

"Is that why you left Vacuo?" Yang asked. She had always wondered; it wasn't easy to sneak onto an airship to Mistral and there was no way she walked. But Emerald had always dodged the subject.

"The main reason."

Vacuo had a reputation. It was supposedly the nesting ground of thieves and bandits. Yang thought that was a little unfair, but she liked their motto: 'if you can survive here, you can live here'. Maybe she would eventually settle down here in about 50 years time.

First though, she wanted a lifetime of excitement.

It certainly seemed like she was getting it today. Soarlane was checking his weapons and properly too. He was also carrying a lot more ammo this time. Sure signs that trouble was expected.

 _Perfect._

"So what are we doing today?"

He rechecked a gun that Yang was sure he didn't have yesterday. "Today we're setting up motion sensors around the perimeter of the canyon and a camera at the entrance. An early alarm system."

"How far out are we putting them?" Emerald asked.

"A mile." Yang pulled a face. This was going to take a while. "They've got a good range and they sync up, so we don't need to set up as many as you think."

Emerald tilted her head, thinking. "And as there are no buildings in the desert, there's nothing to block the signal. What about the weather?"

"Specifically designed to withstand even the worst weather conditions." He lifted up a large, cube bag. "Right. Let's get moving."

"Right!" Ruby saluted.

Yang grinned and cracked her knuckles.

Today was going to be a good day.

This was what being a Huntress was about.

/

It was about six in the afternoon when REY returned to the village.

On the way back, Talaria stretched and took off into the sky. Ruby thought that was more than fair; she had kept hidden even when she spun around to kill two packs of Grimm. She was a little worried, but Talaria knew to stay hidden. She would probably remain in the air until it was dark enough to come down.

Then again a Faunus might see her but then what did that matter? They wouldn't think it was a dragon and would think they just missaw a bird.

The first stop was to check that the people were receiving information from the motion sensors and that there weren't any problems they needed to go out and fix.

The second stop was the shower block. Ruby had never been so grateful for cool water.

 _How can it be this late and still be so hot? Why can't the sun set sooner?_

It had been a long day, but it had felt like a long day before midday. Yang had said it was just the heat and that Ruby would get used to it. She was grateful that they only came across two packs of Grimm, but the rest of the day had been a little dull. Ruby liked being at the destination and doing her job, not all the travelling in-between and there wasn't even pretty sights around.

The shower was what she needed to refresh.

Now energised, she wandered around the village. Emerald had drifted to the little farm patch. Yang had disappeared off somewhere. What Ruby didn't know, she couldn't tell Dad.

The little boy Ruby had met before and now knew as Helio trotted up to her. "Hello Ruby."

"Hello Helio. What happened this time?" So far, Helio and his friends were unable to go ten minutes without getting into a play fight or something that ended bizarrely. Ruby almost knew what it felt like to be Professor Goodwitch. Almost.

"Can you the referee? Agua's in a strop."

Ruby pretended to think about it. "Does he want to play?"

"Well yes, but we need a referee."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright then."

Helio grinned at her and shot off.

One of the adults, Nura, walked to her. "The children like you."

Ruby smiled at her. Then she frowned. "Is that a bad thing?"

"You're a Huntress-"

"In training."

"Not to them. You're interesting and fun. Children like interesting and fun." She looked after them fondly. "Would you mind watching them for an hour or so?"

"Sure. Is something wrong?"

"No. Just supply sorting."

Ruby did remember the supplies arrived that morning. "Okay. Any kids I need to keep an eye on?"

"Dawn is an unrepentant cheater and Zia is learning her Semblance of energy transfer. Have fun."

"Energy transfer?" Ruby murmured. Why did that sound familiar? "I'll keep an eye on her."

She had better catch up with them.

/

"Yang, I literally finished an hour ago. How do you know this is not just a drunk text?"

"Look, I don't have time to explain it, just…What do you mean you only finished an hour ago? It's half eleven!"

"Some idiots caused some trouble that meant I needed to wait until the supervisor was free. I'll just pass the message on-"

"No!" Yang growled. "Eris, please. They're in trouble, I'm sure of it. And if the professors find out…"

"…Find out what?"

"Please. It'll only take a minute."

"You hope and you're expecting trouble."

"You can handle it. Look-"

"Fine."

"-I know I'm asking a lot but…What?"

"I said fine." Mercury hung up and rubbed his temples. He had better not regret this. He turned to the window and hopped out, not bothering to open it.

He headed straight out to the edge of the school area before summoning his aura Grimm. He didn't want an airship and, quite frankly, he couldn't be bothered to hide from the security cameras so they would know he left if they decided to check it.

After landing in Vale, he quickly dismissed it. He shifted into fox form and took off at a trot.

Being a fox was very different from being a person. His eyes were not much different than normal except where movement was involved (which was either coyote or human, Mercury didn't know) but his other senses…

Smell alone was _incredible_.

There was no wind tonight. Fluffy (he would get his revenge on Ruby for that) lifted his snout and breathed deeply.

There were a lot of scents…human or Faunus scents; he didn't yet know the difference…Nothing nearby.

There was the slight rumble of a car, but that was far away.

Fluffy continued.

He knew where he was going. Yang had at least given him a location: docks. However, while the situation was bleak, he wasn't so desperate to dash there. He wasn't far off but only an idiot ran into a situation without having any idea what would happen.

Besides, Raine and her team were rather survival smart compared to a lot of Beacon students.

 _Not that they should even be out this late unless they were out clubbing or something like that. Her team have been on their missions for the year already._

 _More important, what did Yang mean? There aren't many things that can get you expelled from Beacon and that must be the worry if Yang was that against getting proper professionals involved. Let's think…murder is doubtful. Theft possible but also very doubtful…Hang on._

 _Surely they are not unlucky enough to wind up coming across a drug trade?_

Raine wouldn't. Sapphire wouldn't. Arvish…might. He had self-esteem issues and was easily manipulated. Tuddar had a very black and white view of the world so…also possible if the right buttons were pressed.

Mercury expected to be proved wrong.

He could smell blood.

He sat back on his haunches, channelled some aura into his legs and hopped onto the top of the warehouse.

No one watching that would think he's a real fox, but he could only smell people on the other side of the warehouse. One: they would need to be a Faunus. Two: they would have to watch a precise spot at a precise time. Safe to think he was fine and wasn't spotted.

 _Just my luck._

 _Okay. I know…two men in that circle. They were at LiaGuard so if they see me, that would get…interesting. I don't know the other three but they look like mercenaries. The one in charge…I don't know at all._

Tuddar wasn't looking good. He was on the ground, unmoving. The blood scent was from him, but said blood wasn't visible. If he was breathing, it couldn't be seen.

There was no sign of the rest of the team.

The message Raine sent Yang: 'Docks. Help.'

Very little to go on. There was no mention of how many of her teammates were there, so it could just be Raine and Tuddar. There was also no mention of the professionals, so Yang knew more than she was saying.

Mercury was sure he could pick up another recent scent though and that one had a tint of adrenaline. Fear or terror. That could be a third teammate or an unrelated civilian.

The men began to walk towards a certain warehouse. They began to spread out.

 _Surround. Someone's in there they want._

Could be Raine.

The unknown scent headed off in a different direction. Still straight towards what was a dead end, but a different direction.

"It's just a kid. She's harmless."

"I've thought that before," Something Brown scoffed. Fluffy gave a fox grin. The man still had the scar. "Treat her like a fully experienced Huntress."

Raine was the simple group: stable background and no trauma.

"You worry too much." They did listen though.

Fluffy hopped down. Sticking to the shadows, he ran across the concrete, paws barely on the ground. He kept away from the people, using the buildings to break up his shape and shadow.

Arriving at the back wall before the group can cover it, Fluffy shifted back into Mercury and he crouch-walked through the wall at the corner.

The danger of phasing was that he had no idea what was on the other side. He could be walking into anything, hence why he didn't use it often and wanted to keep it secret.

 _Why are warehouses always full of crates?_

A quick glance showed they were empty.

Spotting Raine wasn't easy. In fact, he found her using her shadow from the moonlight. She was curled up and shaking.

"Raine?"

His reflexes were quick and he covered her mouth before she could even jump. She jerked and grabbed his arm. Seeing that it was him, she let go again. She nodded and Mercury withdrew the gag.

"Yang?"

Mercury nodded. He glanced back and listened. The door hadn't opened yet, so they were still outside.

"Anyone else?"

Raine understood. She began to relax a little. Gain a little more confidence. "Tuddar and Sapphire. Tuddar, he…I don't know where Sapphire is."

Sapphire was the one that Fluffy had smelt on the opposite side of the docks. He hadn't seen anyone heading towards her nor a scent unaccounted for, so the group outside were the only ones.

Raine had very little aura. It had obviously shattered and was only just regenerating.

"Okay. I'll handle this. Just wait until I send for you. You'll know it's me." Simple form would be the messenger. He summoned it and sent it through the roof, silent eyes in the sky.

She frowned. Then she scowled and went to stand. Mercury swiftly put a hand on her shoulder to keep her down.

"Mercury I'm going with you-"

"No. You'll get in my way." She opened her mouth again and Mercury realised part of the reason she had suddenly gotten so forceful. Everyone at Beacon knew that he had been the first kidnap victim. "I made mistakes that night and I've trained hard since. I'll be fine."

He didn't let her argue. He slipped away and around the crates.

They had surrounded the door.

Mercury would rather not use his aura animals in the fight yet. He had a few seconds to think of a basic plan.

 _Friendly fire and bottleneck._

Mercury didn't go into a corner. That was the first place they would attack. He stepped on top of the crate, crouched down and waited in full view of the door.

The bang of the door getting blasted off the hinges covered up the bang of a Dust grenade from Pandora.

It wasn't Mercury's problem if they didn't have their aura unlocked. They were in the wrong line of business. Besides, it was the ones that got away that came back to haunt him.

Mercury closed his eyes for a moment.

 _They're retreating. Not happening._

Two were about to bolt. Three of them were still aiming at the entrance, but were backing away and were looking at the ground. The blowback of bodies had brought everyone to the entrance door.

Mercury moved.

A fire sword was very situational. With no wind, it was more contained. Swift movement required more heat and 'fuel' (aura) to maintain. The fire sword was the intimidation.

The vine was more practical.

 _Maybe I'll ask Melody for tips on controlling more than one at the same time._

Instinct moved him. Mercury focused on the weapon and his targets; his dodging was all reactive. He quickly determined who was a threat, who was going to run, who was for show and who had never been in a proper fight before.

"Aren't you-?"

Mercury roped him into the other person who would recognise him. He remembered them as sadists and if they thought Mercury was still a toy, they were going to stick around.

"Isn't he-?"

"Yeah. The pet. What are the odds?" Almost laughing.

Good. They were interested. That made things easier. After all, they were in LiaGuard prison for a reason. They couldn't walk away.

They had also never realised that Mercury had always been tied down _for a very good reason_. He never bothered to escape as he knew he couldn't. Killing everyone hurting him was fair game and Cinder would have just shrugged and said they should have followed orders.

Within seconds, they were out cold.

The rest liked terror tactics just as well. That would work against most opponents. Against opponents that aren't intimidated and go for high, possibly fatal damage straight away, it was a waste of energy.

Mercury switched to the aura sword.

 _They have no idea how to work together._

Shattering an opponent's aura by touch still took a lot of concentration. He wasn't ready to risk it in the middle of unknowns; he still had too little successful practice for his liking and that was without using Pandora at the same time.

But he didn't need it here.

In five minutes, he had six unconscious bodies around him.

 _Hmm. What to do now?_

The noise hadn't brought Sapphire out of hiding.

Tuddar also looked like he was breathing.

The winged fox went to Raine to tell her it was safe.

Mercury went straight to Tuddar. He placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to aura read him. Getting a little feedback, he scowled. He reached over and moved his arm.

A needle rolled across the concrete.

 _Oh, it's not just drugs. It's Dust drugs. And from the marks, he's been a user for at least a month. Where did he get the money for that? And the contacts?_

That was definitely going to get him kicked out of Beacon.

At the moment, Beacon was the least of Tuddar's worries. Dilated pupils; blocked airway; slight convulsions now. He was suffering from an overdose.

Raine ran up to him as he manoeuvred Tuddar into the 'recovery position'. "Is he okay?"

"No. Call an ambulance and stay with him." There was nothing more Mercury could do for him. "I'm going to look for Sapphire." He created the winged fox again. "That'll stay with you."

Sapphire was out cold. She was also suffering from an overdose, but the mark was in her neck. No signs on her arms or legs meant that she wasn't a user.

 _Not really supposed to move her so…_

He made the winged fox speak to Raine again as he moved Sapphire into the 'recovery position' as well. The hospital wasn't too far so it shouldn't be long.

As it happened, five minutes.

He got the simple questions ('did you see her take it?'; 'do you know what was in the needle?'; 'how long?' etc.) They didn't ask anything about him and Sapphire was taken into the ambulance with Tuddar and Raine.

He himself called the police station afterwards, wishing it was a slow night so he wasn't waiting ages.

"Vale City Police."

"There's been a…incident at the local docks. There was an altercation and a group of mercenaries I think are unconscious on the ground. Two of them are 'undesirables'." Undesirables. Code word for 'LiaGuard escapees'.

"Understood. Police will be there in five minutes."

Wonderful. More waiting and an annoying conversation. "Understood," he echoed.

The next phone call would be the worst for him.

 _Second worst. Although, I don't think I'll be telling Tai and Felix about this._

"Mercury? If there's a problem, you can come to my office."

"About that…" He wasn't supposed to leave his dorm. This had almost certainly ended his Mane Graduation tests. "I'm not at Beacon at the moment. I'm at the docks."

"And why are you at the docks?"

"There was an incident. I'll be back soon." Mercury hung up and let out a breath.

 _Looks like I'll be putting off my personal travel for another two years._

Now he just had to not give stupid answers to the police when they asked him stupid questions. He was a teenage kid; good for underestimation. That came with downsides too.

But he had no interest in mentioning ARTS or Yang. He would use generals and mention to Arvish tomorrow that Tuddar might need help getting over the addiction. That was going to be a difficult discussion.

What fun.

 _Might want to message Yang though. Won't mention this cost me my final tests though. There's no need or point of that._

He headed back to keep an eye on his prey from earlier.

* * *

Wednesday.

There was a knock on the dorm door at five in the morning.

Mercury looked up from where he was reading a manual on the newest bike on the market. Yang had good taste in vehicles, if nothing else.

 _No, that was definitely my door. Who else is up at this hour?_

He slipped out the chair and opened it, only to blink at Ozpin. "Why are you here?"

He chuckled. "Collecting you for your first test today."

"I thought I was automatically disqualified after last night." Not that he was complaining, but he didn't want the possible license revoked for a technicality.

"That was never technically made a rule and was mainly for the Kingdom exams. I have spoken with Raine and your isolation was continued. She had no idea what you were doing."

Ozpin had spoken to Raine. Mercury had never mentioned names. "What did you talk to Raine about then?"

"Her team and her academics. What else?"

Mercury sighed. "And how are her team?" The problem with overdoses was that there was little he could do other than call for professional help. Drugs were bad enough. Dust drugs were even worse.

"I can say they survived thanks to your actions and are recovering. Raine would like to speak to you at some point and that won't be a problem for the tests." _More connections._ Mercury didn't visually respond. Ozpin studied his face for a moment before continuing. "Sapphire will be released tomorrow but Tuddar will be in for longer."

Mercury still didn't comment. He wasn't sure if Ozpin knew and he wasn't going to give him any hints.

Ozpin gestured to the hallway. "Shall we?"

Without more prompting, Mercury shut and locked the door behind him before following the Headmaster. "So what am I doing today? More essays?"

"No. Today is completely practical. I don't imagine it'll be too stressful and honestly, you already proved you can pass last night. However, it is a tick in the box."

"So I'm fighting?" Finally. He knew it was in the test somewhere; there was no way they were sending someone out into the world early unless they were satisfied they weren't going to get killed before the end of the first week.

"Among other things. And let's pretend you're not an Aura Wielder for the day."

"I agreed to that at the beginning of the week." If something happened that meant he couldn't use his aura, which he knew Dr Watts had been working on, then fair enough. "So a test for endurance and survival skills?"

"Among other things."

Mercury snorted. He realised they were heading to the airships. "So where are we going?"

"Edrad."

"Never heard of it."

"Well, it's not taught in any schools. It is an area exclusively for Mane Graduation tests."

Mercury smiled.

/

REY had gotten their fight.

For some unexplained and not discussed reason (underage drinking party), a pack of sixty Grimm were approaching the village from both the south and the north. Nine Huntsmen took the north while seven and REY took the south.

 _And I didn't like wasps before. Griffons are cool; Lancers are creepy and can go to hell._

Yang also found Lancers were near impossible to ride and had no problem judging the distance from their brethren exactly to impale Yang and not the one she was joyriding.

There were no cannon fodder Grimm here. Death Stalkers were plentiful and were the 'weakest' thing they were fighting.

"Hey, anyone else see that little lizard thing?"

 _Uh oh._

Yang glanced around.

Talaria had her teeth in a Griffon's right eye. The Griffon was not happy about this. It was thrashing, smacking its head on the floor and even slashing its head with its talons. It acted a little rabid.

"She's with us," Emerald called. "We found her on a mission and we were allowed to keep her."

The Huntsman caught the Death Stalker's stinger for a moment before dropping it onto a King Taijitu. "She won't attack us?"

"Not unless you attack us first."

"Then fair enough."

That was far less hassle than Yang expected.

For the first time, it was really driven home to Yang the huge difference between an experienced Huntsman and her. They weren't just crushing the opposition; they were…practical. They didn't play with the Grimm; didn't try to enjoy the fight.

Kill one; stun the other; move on.

Yang had already been saved from crippling injury by Emerald and Mr Soarlane. Emerald hadn't even had time to scold her for such a rookie mistake.

Which, today, Yang was willing to let go.

Mercury had called her last night after his little trip and he wasn't happy. He bluntly told her that a possible drug dealing was something he needed to know upfront and that could get someone killed if they didn't know what they were walking into.

She had been very quiet during that call. She had felt guilty enough dumping the problem on him, especially given what happened last time he went out on his own, but she was desperate. He should be fine. She would have gone herself if she could, but he was the only one she could trust.

But…

She shook it off.

Now though…

Now was the time to let that anger, worry and desperation out.

It was time to trigger her Semblance at half aura.

She had never done that before. Even when it triggered due to anger, her aura was lower than it was now. There might not be much power-up at this point, but it was better than before.

Yang grabbed a Lancer's stinger. She pulled and twisted. If she could pick up enough speed, she could use it like a battering ram for the ones in the sky.

The problem was that Lancers could fly the full 360⁰. Yang wasn't hitting anything.

However, what she was doing was making the Lancers behave predictably. Everyone else was quick to take advantage of it.

On top of that, the longer Yang held on, the lower her aura went and the more she powered up. Humans were not built for this kind of strain.

Once she was strong enough, she pulled it down to the ground fully and punched it hard enough to kill it. The opponents in the sky were a little far off for Yang's liking so she focused on the ones on the ground.

Another pack of three showed up. But Yang wasn't sure was she was looking at.

It was some large, cat like figure. Two teeth dropped past the jaw, the head looked more like a shell or maybe glass and its back was littered with quills sticking out. Five claws instead of four and the final one was placed like a thumb. All three were the size of a fully grown Griffon.

Bullets seemed to just bounce off them.

"What are they?" Emerald asked, backing off a little.

"I don't know," Ruby replied, readying Crescent Rose. "I've never heard of Grimm like that."

"Neither have I," claimed one Huntsmen who was focused on a Beringal until it finally collapsed. He backed off and had a proper look. "And I've been all over the globe."

 _Could they be…new?_

They pounced.

Yang caught the jaws, but one of the long canines slashed against her arm. She could actually see deep marks in Ember Celica. In fact, that one wouldn't fire; it was that damaged.

"Damn it," Yang snarled.

These things were _powerful._ Overpowering even her and she couldn't move to get the proper angle to push back properly.

It was hissing. She could feel its breath on her neck. The stench of blood.

Then spikes jutted out of the neck.

Yang shifted just in time to avoid one in her eye, but it still pierced her. Almost panicking, she shoved. With her aura now in the red, the force was finally enough.

It only sprang back a few feet and leapt once more.

Only after Yang rolled out of the way did she realise it wasn't aiming at her.

Emerald had been doing quite well with hers. She had kept it in front of her despite its leaps and bounds and kept it at a distance. It was stalking around, almost circling.

She noticed the second one nearly too late. It had targeted her from behind.

Flipping to the side only bought her time. The one in front was on her instantly.

 _This isn't happening._

Yang charged. She jumped into the air and landed on the closest one's back.

It didn't like that.

It growled and was about to roll over. Having done the job, Yang looked to the second one.

That screeched and couldn't get off Emerald quick enough.

In its eye was a dagger.

Yang hopped off hers, grabbed its muzzle and threw it further away. It landed on its feet. The spike mane retracted with no sign it was ever there.

Emerald was back on her feet.

"You okay?"

"Fine. Just surprised. Grimm don't hunt like that normally, even in packs."

The stabbed one clawed at its head. The dagger finally dropped to the sand. A silver Dust dagger.

"How long have you had that?" And where did she get it? Yang was sure Mercury still had his father's or whatever had been reforged-

Oh. Yang did remember she thought Emerald had swiped one of the others.

"A while."

There was a scar on its face now.

A bellow and the third cat-like Grimm that the two had been ignoring collapsed. It began to fade away.

The closest one, Yang's, charged at the Huntsmen. The other Grimm, which had been hanging back out of some sort of chivalry apparently, now attacked with more ferocity.

Very soon, the 'cats' were lost in the sea of black and white.

Yang's next close call came from a King Taijitu that had been lurking underground.

 _How long until this ends?_

Yang was having fun. To a degree.

But she had been separated from the others. She thought everyone had been.

 _Don't think. Just fight. Sort it out later._

After half an hour, the numbers began to thin.

Enough for Yang to notice Emerald was carefully using Maiden power to kill them quicker. She evidently thought the situation called for it and Yang agreed.

Another ten minutes passed. Finally, there was nothing but black bodies.

"Report." No idea of who said it.

Silence.

"Remedy fine," Ruby gasped out. She was sitting down, gathering her energy.

There was a brief quiet. Yang caught her breath.

Mr Soarlane spoke. "Kilo's dead. So's Jeffrey. No sign of Aster anywhere, dead or alive."

Emerald glanced around. She began to walk carefully, picking up her dagger. "I don't know about the others, but there's only one dead cat Grimm. The other two aren't here."

Yang took a quick look around herself. She couldn't see them either. Surely they hadn't dispersed already?

"Okay. Let's get the wounded and get out of here." The man turned to Emerald. "Can your winged lizard keep an eye out for us?"

Talaria nodded to him. She flew up again.

"She understands me."

"Don't worry about it." Ruby pushed herself up. "She was made to see if she could be controlled by people. We never questioned it much."

Yang thought about that. The magicals had originally duplicated dragon eggs to learn about their behaviour on a smaller scale. But if their intention had been control or communication and magic was all about intent…

 _I'll talk with Eris about that. Or Maia later._

For now, they had to return to the village and recover.

 _Two dead and one missing._

"Should we go look for Aster?" Ruby asked. "He could still be alive."

Mr Soarlane took a moment to think about it. He searched the horizon and sighed. "We have no idea where he went. He could be in one of these." He gestured to the black mist. "Let's get back and help the people we know can be helped."

Ruby's shoulders slumped at that.

It was a solemn walk back to the village.

Yang stayed close to her sisters. That could very easily have been them lying there in the sand. She had lost sight of them for a long while and if they had been in too much trouble, she wouldn't have been able to help.

/

Mercury was in a fight as well. He also made a mental note to never complain about Mountain Glenn again.

Edrad was little more than an island that took two hours by airship to get to.

There was literally nothing but Grimm here and was so densely packed it was impossible to not see at least six at once in any direction. As far as he could tell, the only Grimm that wasn't here were Goliaths. There were even Nevermores that had no reason to stay on the island.

On top of that, Mercury had had to hand over all his weapons. He kept his boots but wasn't allowed to fire them. It was pure close quarters combat.

And he was loving every second of it.

Ozpin and Ironwood remained behind a glass wall that was apparently made up of the same glass in video games. The thing didn't break even under a truck sized Beringal and the Grimm quickly lost interest in them; choosing to focus on the prey they weren't blocked off from.

"Do you restock this place?" Mercury asked as he bounced off an Ursa Major to land on a Griffon.

Ozpin waited for him to return to the ground on a dead Nevermore before replying. "The island restocks itself in a few months. It is part of the reason we have this Mane Graduation at this time of the year."

"Why do they keep coming here?"

"We believe it's for the students we test here. They didn't come before."

Mercury considered that. The other answer was Salem ordered them here and that didn't fit. "How many have they eaten?"

"None."

"How many have they killed?"

"None, though there have been many close calls."

 _If they were used to fighting with weapons and then had to give them up, no surprise. I would expect casualties._

None of the Grimm here were young. They were all at least a decade old, many older. Nevermores could fly anywhere so maybe they did return year after year to see if there was new prey. After all, they hadn't targeted the airship.

That was a little weird.

 _Besides, if the Grimm are here, that's a few days they're not terrorising somewhere else._

These Grimm could adapt. They moved as a group. They played on advantages of the others.

And none of that was a match for Mercury.

 _Might come here every year for some fun if they're not doing Mane Graduations. It's also a nice bolthole for me if I need it._

There were some plants that were edible. A few trees were undamaged as well. He was sure he could see the sun reflected from a water hole.

 _Maybe it's not just human prey they're after. Maybe a species of animal returns here. They look like nests so maybe birds?_

The only thing Mercury regretted was that the fight was over all too soon, but he wasn't stupid enough to muck about. One mistake could cost you your life.

His leg stomped the final Beowulf into the ground.

He sprang off that leg, spun in the air and landed. He glanced up at whatever danger he thought he had sensed and had avoided.

Ozpin.

Who then came at him.

 _This is more like it!_

Mercury had no doubt Ozpin was holding back but it was still a good challenge.

The man was fast, powerful and apparently fighting in a life or death situation. Throw in the fact he had centuries worth of experience and this could be the toughest fight in Mercury's life.

 _Duck, dodge, hit, dodge, dodge, dodge, hit, sidestep, roll, catch, dodge…Catch?_

Now Ironwood decided to get in on the fight.

But now Mercury was apparently allowed his weapons. Not that they gave him time to reattach them. He dropped the knife sheaths and kept Pandora in his hand.

 _This is the most realistic situation so far._

The objective probably wasn't to win; Mercury didn't think he could. The objective was to convince the two he was skill enough in combat. That wouldn't be difficult. The fight itself would be.

At first, Ozpin and Ironwood moved independently. They acted like two people who happened to want the same person dead.

Half an hour later, that changed. Now they were fighting together.

Mercury had been managing well when they were acting independently. He could outmanoeuvre them, use their added height against them by sticking low and even cause one case of friendly fire. He wasn't winning, but he hadn't been losing either.

That was flipped instantly to being almost always on the defensive.

 _Okay, fighting like this isn't working. Let's try something else._

There wasn't much in the environment he could use but there was some.

Mercury flipped back. He missed both with his kicks, but that was fine. That was to get them to step back.

Then he tackled Ozpin back. He spun and threw him in the lake.

 _Not a common strategy over the ages, apparently._

He hopped over Ironwood, clipping Pandora to his belt. He made sure Ozpin couldn't sneak up on him. The man had already gotten out of the lake, but he still had a few seconds before he was in striking distance. As far as he was aware, Ozpin didn't have any long range.

Mercury _might_ be able to overpower Ironwood if he really tried, but why try? Reversals worked so much better.

Just because he had a favourite fighting style didn't mean he couldn't use others. That had made finding one suitable for Ruby much easier.

And it was that style he was using now. Great for fighting larger and more powerful opponents. Little jabs for minor damage but using Ironwood's own strength and power for the major damage.

Mercury's greatest advantage wasn't strength. It wasn't even adaptation. It was endurance. He had far superior stamina to anyone he had come across.

Ozpin re-joining the fight didn't change much. Mercury was as slippery as his name; dodging blows and wriggling out of grapples for his own. He put the two on either side of him as close as he could. Then he just waited and adapted.

Finally, Ironwood and Ozpin jumped back. A raised hand called a halt to the fight.

Mercury relaxed out of his stance, but he remained cautious. This could just be a trick. "That's it?"

"That is it," Ozpin lowered his hand. "You have my word."

So far, that hadn't been broken and was obviously supposed to put him at ease. It didn't much, but he was half convinced. Did the fact they attacked him when he wasn't ready for it complete that lesson or was he getting a refresher course in a minute?

"Qualities?" Mercury asked. He wasn't sure there was more.

Ironwood answered that. "How you managed under pressure and many enemies along with how you handled a surprise attack. We need to be sure you can handle people as well as Grimm."

Mercury folded his arms with a raised eyebrow.

"Another tick in the box," Ozpin smiled. "However, that is it for today. I want you to head to the infirmary when you get back before you do anything else. Remember: you are not to talk about these tests with anyone."

"Yeah, I know." That Mercury could believe. "Do you think you could convince Tai and Qrow that I'm capable after today?"

The men responded together: "No."

"Thought not."

Ozpin chuckled. "Let us return."

/

Emerald was working with the medics and Yang was with the adults talking about the deaths and Grimm packs recently. Specifically, that cat like Grimm that even Mercury and Uncle Qrow had never seen.

Ruby might be team leader, but they had specifically requested her to keep an eye on the children. Honestly, Ruby would have picked this anyway. She didn't have the knowledge for Emerald's job and she didn't want Yang's. Discussing death was never easy and the fact it had been an underage drinking party gone bad that brought them, a pastime Yang was familiar with and Ruby wasn't…

"Can she have babies?"

Talaria had returned to Ruby as soon as they returned to the village. Many of the children and adults saw her, so Ruby was using her for a little show and tell. Mr Soarlane was next to her as adult supervision and to learn about this creature no one had ever seen before. Most likely making sure she wasn't a threat.

"No, she can't. Sometimes though, I think she's adopted us as her hatchlings." Ruby knew that as a fact.

"Can we touch her?"

They had asked this already. The first time, Talaria had bared her teeth so Ruby had said no. She was sticking to that but she could see why they asked. Talaria was resting on a small rock, looking perfectly at ease at being the centre of attention.

"Afraid not. She's not tame or domesticated or anything like that. She just doesn't attack people."

"Does she eat people?"

"No." Technically, Peruvian Vipertooths (Viperteeth?) did. Talaria had never eaten a person. Attacked yes, but not eaten.

"What does she eat?"

"She likes meat. The rawer, the better. I have caught her eating bugs so I guess she likes the taste of them too."

"Where does she live?" Helio asked that. His eyes had never left her.

"I honestly don't know. We found her in a lab and we can't find anything like her anywhere. We think she was made." That was a load of lies but it would do for the purpose. "So she lives with us."

Dandy wasn't happy with that. "Why did you get to keep her?"

"She was very young and somehow imprinted on my teammate, so he got to keep her. Now she's a little older, she doesn't mind traveling with us and not him."

There was a little muttering as the elder ones told the younger what imprinting was.

"But he's a boy. Shouldn't she have imprinted on a girl?"

Ruby shrugged. "He was who she saw first. Gender doesn't matter apparently. Or she didn't know the difference at that age."

"How smart is she?" Zia asked. "I mean, they said she can understand us, so can't she do a few tricks?"

Talaria bared her teeth again and growled.

Zia jumped. The others leaned forward, fascinated.

Mr Soarlane shifted. Ruby could almost feel his gaze.

"She's not a pet. She doesn't do tricks." Ruby turned a little to look at Mr Soarlane. "She sees them as hatchlings. She'll scare, but not hurt." Unless they try to hurt her or her pack, but Ruby didn't mention that.

Just like she hadn't mentioned Talaria was venomous. All three had the anti-venom anyway and Talaria never went out of their sight.

"If she was born in a lab, why is she protective of hatchlings she can't have?" Helio blinked and tilted his head.

Talaria tilted her head in mimicry.

"We don't know. We assume she's the only one of her kind and that she's not natural because we've never found a reference to others. The notes in the lab suggested she was created but none of us could really understand them."

"How do you know she's a girl?" Dawn asked.

Ruby got the feeling she was going to be here all afternoon.

She mentally shrugged. There was nothing wrong with that.

Now how was she supposed to answer this with the story she had made up?

/

Mercury had returned to his dorm after dinner and settled down with one of Emerald's murder mysteries. He was normally okay with these, but he had never had to deal with a locked room mystery before.

He was halfway through and convinced it was the wife with the clever use of mirrors and wigs when there was a knock on the door.

Rolling his eyes, Mercury got up to open it.

"Blake?"

She looked at him with hard eyes. "We need to talk Ares."

 _This never goes well. But if that's the name she's using, then it's not me she's angry at._

Mercury stepped back and let her in. She sat on the bunk bed while he took the double.

"What is it?"

"Adam killed Sierra Khan this morning."

Whatever Mercury was expecting, it wasn't that. "That's not good."

"In her own throne room."

"That's even worse." He took a deep breath. "So he has a lot more influence than originally thought or he managed to get his supporters into key positions. Both are worrying. What do you need from me?"

"Information. The people you used to work for and who else he is working with."

Mercury sighed. "The person I used to work for is dead. Everything else came from other sources. There are certain things I can't tell you but…Where to start?"

"You visited the White Fang once," Blake stated. "You can start there."

That led into Maidens and Salem; two things that he wasn't going to bring up with Blake. However, that is how Salem and Adam first interacted through proxy. How to phrase this?

"My employer, Cinder, was interested in power. She was also interested in the destruction of Beacon and the other schools. Don't ask me why; I didn't care so I don't know. She went to discuss a 'revolution' with Adam. This was when I was with her. At that point, he dismissed us. He thought he was supporting a human cause and wanted no part in it."

Blake considered. Mercury knew Yang had told her a little, but Yang didn't know much to tell. While she hadn't named names, Blake had obviously managed to pick up who she was talking about.

"And he was coerced into changing his mind."

"Yes. It was a week later that Cinder and I went different ways, so I don't know for sure. What I do know is that Cinder was looking for power and I'm not talking weapon here. I mean power like other Semblances; more spiritual power and abilities. When I fought her on the last night of the Vytal Festival, I knew she had succeeded. I think this power is what convinced Adam. She also wasn't above emotional blackmail."

"So the train was Cinder's idea."

Or Salem's. "I think so. At that point, she had a load of other people working for her. Roman Torchwick for example. She had contacts across the continent and even in other continents. When she died, someone else just carried on. Adam's part of a much larger network now, but he's their main attack dog. But now all these people are out of prison, I think he's moving more on his own."

Blake nodded. "From what I hear, he's not after equality anymore. He's after superiority."

From a practical and survival standpoint, Mercury could understand why. He also knew that wouldn't end well for anyone. "Sierra Khan didn't agree, I take it?"

"She told my father she wasn't interested in a war she couldn't win. That was why the violence was so focused."

"It also helped with the message of revolution. Faunus killing innocents and sympathisers just puts out the message that they are rabid monsters." Mercury rubbed his temples. He may be a Faunus, but he had never had any opinion of the White Fang until Cinder tried to negotiate with them.

"So you see. The problem is that violence has been so successful."

"That's not exactly the problem. The people who see Faunus as equals tend to be the ones who don't bring it up. The shopkeeper who barely notices the difference and only as an explanation as to why someone has an extra set of ears. That is progress. Adam making a huge deal of it isn't helping."

"I am aware of that." Blake put her head on her fists, considering the problem. "Who are Adam's contracts? Do you know?"

"Not really. From what Zephyr told me," she straightened, "Adam is operating mainly on his own. They get him the resources and information he asks for, but they don't really contribute."

"Zephyr?"

"He told me things. Things he thought I needed to know. Adam was one of them. He mostly works on his own now, but he keeps in contact with others. Especially the Faunus who escaped the prison. Those can be looked up; I can't add anything to that."

"I see." Blake took a deep breath. "The problem is that we have no idea what he's going to do next."

"The White Fang is split into two. What are you going to do Metis?"

"We can't fight under the same banner. I'm going to take the White Fang back." Blake looked him in the eye. "And I need your help."

"My help?"

"I'm not stupid Ares. You're going to pass the Mane Graduation. Then you're going to get out into the world. Beacon and Vale are too small for you. All I'm asking is that if you hear anything, you let me know immediately. Trouble is drawn to your team like a magnet and you know what to look for."

Mercury chuckled. Having a Huntsman in your pocket was a handy thing. "I promise. But I'm not leaving until the start of next year."

She nodded in acceptance. "Can I ask you something? You being a Faunus…"

Mercury shrugged. "Thing is, people look at me and see human. Even if they're told, unless they care enough to remember, they'll think I'm human and to them it doesn't matter. I don't care either way. For now, let's not give out the message that Faunus are equal to humans when their appendages are amputated, shall we?"

"A fair point."

"If the girls do start this CCTS web videoing, maybe I'll put it in the profile because there is no way they are not roping me into it. For the game dubs, we don't have personal profiles."

"Web videoing?"

"You don't know about that yet? Lucky you."

Blake laughed. "What's in it for you?"

"The ability to not have to call my overprotective guardians every night. They see the video and they know I've been fine for that week."

"Like I said: trouble magnet."

Mercury smiled before he got serious again. "I want to keep it quiet for now though. I can walk into Faunus banned bars without a problem and bars are an excellent source of info. Like I said: I'll let you know."

"Would you be willing to meet with my father?"

"What for?"

"Devil's Advocate. And I want you to follow the Albian twins. Something about them really rubs me up the wrong way but I can't _prove_ it. A Huntsman License gives you that authority and you are a paranoid nutjob that would follow them to make sure of their motives."

"True." Blake was certainly growing as a leader, even if Mercury wasn't one of the ones under her. "I'll get back to you on that next week. Let me at least get the License before we start making plans."

It wasn't like he had anything better to do and Adam was proving to be far more of an unknown than even he thought.

"Yes. Thank you."

The White Fang under Adam classified any human for extermination and apparently also every Faunus who disagreed with them.

No, Mercury was more than willing to help with this problem.

* * *

Thursday.

Ruby was filling the four remaining water bottles early in the morning when Nura approached her. "Hello."

"Ruby, have you seen Dawn this morning?"

Ruby took a moment to think about that. "No, I haven't. Is she okay?"

"I'm sure it's fine. She's chosen to play hide and seek apparently. Just let me know if you see her today."

"Okay." There were a lot of hiding spots around the village.

Today was another check on the motion sensors. While they had picked up on the horde yesterday, a few of them had gone offline. They needed to get them up and running again.

It was going to be a long day again, but it was an important one and any job well done was rewarding.

She was a little worried about the two big cat like Grimm that got away. They didn't attack like any Grimm Ruby had come across so far. They had also chosen to pick Emerald out. She was going to ask Professor Port about that.

But she still had two days to enjoy.

/

"That's it?" It was just a test that didn't even last an hour.

"For today, yes. If you pass this, you have one last test tomorrow."

"But this?" Mercury handed over the tablet. He had finished within the hour but it hadn't been easy. It was clearly designed to see which his most instinctive responses were.

"Yes." Ironwood placed it on the desk. "This is the most subjective of all the tests, tomorrow's test included, so it is the most debated."

"You managed to mark the Kingdom papers the same day I completed them." It may be an ethics and morals test but it was still ridiculous to be the only thing to do today.

"There were guidelines for that and it is rather difficult to fail."

Mercury rolled his eyes. He headed back down the lift.

 _Now what to do?_

Tomorrow's test. Singular.

All the students were in class or on a mission.

 _No. Not all of them._

Mercury went to Vale, this time by airship. He slipped through the streets until he arrived at the Vale City hospital. With the lobby empty, he approached the receptionist.

"Can I help you sir?"

"Tuesday night, two students from Beacon were brought in. I know one's returned. Can I talk to the other one? Tuddar?"

She typed a few things on her computer. After a moment, she turned back to him. "Third floor. Sixth door on the right from the stairs."

"Thank you." That was easy.

The ward was easy enough to find. There was no one around but then it was Thursday lunchtime. People would either be in school or in work.

Raine was in the private room. She barely looked at him before returning to her book. "Hello Mercury."

Tuddar was asleep in the bed. There was no movement from him.

"Hi." He pulled up a chair. "The rest of your team?"

"Arvish has gone to lunch and Sapphire's gone for a mandatory blood test. They'll be back soon."

He waved at the bed. "How's he looking?"

Raine sighed. She closed the book and put it on a table. "They think he'll pull through. Luckily it was blue Dust he was using and that's the most docile to use. But drugs are drugs…Yang and I talked yesterday. You were angry at her. That was unfair."

Mercury spoke casually, never raising or hardening his voice. "Maybe as I'm sure you told her not to tell anyone and I know how seriously they take promises. But she suspected it was to do with drugs. That was information I needed to know before walking into it. Drug dealers are a) very callous and dangerous people, b) they often have _a lot_ of people just as dangerous as they are and c) someone on drugs is nigh on impossible to predict and that's before a Semblance is taken into account. Concealing that information could have got all of us killed."

Raine scowled. "Nothing happened. You managed fine."

The door opened behind them. Mercury ignored it.

"I managed fine because I was half expecting it. There aren't many things that can get you chucked out of Beacon and all of them are remarkably dangerous. I planned for the worst." His eyes flickered to the bed and back. "What happened anyway?"

Raine didn't say anything.

"He deserves to know." Arvish dropped a lunch box in front of Raine. "Go. I've got it from here."

Without a word, Raine took it and left the room.

"You didn't tell the police anything useful."

"No," Mercury confirmed. "I only told the paramedics what they needed to know. Same with the police. I like my privacy and I assume everyone else does unless they tell me otherwise. This isn't any of my business. But if there are _Dust_ drugs in Beacon, I want to know more. My family is still here and Yang already knew about it or suspected it."

Arvish tapped his fingers on the table. He was very nervous.

"We don't know. Sapphire caught Tuddar with a needle on Monday. They had a row and he stormed out. He wouldn't talk to us. We share a room; we know he didn't come back that night. When he left Beacon, we knew. I messed with the cameras around the school while the girls went after him. You can guess what happened after that."

 _Explains where Arvish was but I think he was putting the cart before the horse there._

Fluffy's nose had given him a good idea what happened. "Something you've got to keep in mind is that this isn't the movies. Most people who stumble across this end up dead one way or another. If all he's doing is buying, then he's got a better chance but he needs to get clean. And he's not going to be happy with you when he wakes up."

"I suppose you'd know," Arvish responded scathingly.

"Drug addicts tend to live alone, be homeless or come from an unstable background. I saw plenty of them in my captivity, so yeah. I've got a rough idea."

Arvish flinched at that. "Sorry. That was out of line."

"It's fine. But that's the sort of attitude that's going to get through to him. Tough love. He'll hate you for it at first, but either the drugs will kill him or the people selling them to him will."

"I do know that." He ran a hand over his face. "This is going to be tough."

"So what are you going to do?"

Arvish glared at him. "He's my teammate. My responsibility. I'll stick by him, through thick and thin. Even if he hates me for it."

"Even if he's no longer your teammate?"

"He'll always be my teammate, even if he's not. I'll fight for it though. He shouldn't lose his dream because of one mistake."

 _Mistake, huh._

Mercury glanced at Tuddar before turning back to Arvish. "Raine asked for me the other day."

"She wanted to say 'thanks'."

"For showing up or for not telling?"

"Both." He looked at Tuddar. "But I suppose it's too late now."

"It was a stopgap measure at best. He needs help. People don't kick it on their own. Does he have parents?"

"He does. I called them last night and told them. They want to take him home as soon as they can."

"That is their right."

Arvish didn't reply.

Sapphire appeared. She gave Mercury an odd look, but she sat down next to Arvish and waited.

/

Headmaster Ironwood put the tablet down with a sigh.

"We always knew he would pass this, James."

"You knew Oz. I suspected. It's different. We both know this is lies. He doesn't think this way."

"Does it really matter if he acts that way? I can think of a few of my fourth year graduates over the years that I was hesitant of."

James could think of a few of his. It was part of the reason he was pleased they joined the military. "None of them are as inhuman as he is."

"A product of his childhood. I can only hope he is a one off."

"You can see my concerns about releasing him into society. I would prefer him having more time, especially after LiaGuard."

"As would I. However, what is the alternative? Imprison him again?"

James sighed. "This is a no win situation."

Ozpin skimmed through the tablet again. "I disagree. When he is in the field, he had shown no behaviour that is worrying."

"He knew he was being watched." James leaned back. "When he graduates, he can do whatever he likes with no supervision. He was raised by a sadistic psychopath in a very isolated environment Ozpin. I have no doubt he behaves this way because we could have killed him if he didn't. There is no reason for him to continue after earning a Huntsman License."

"Perhaps." Ozpin conceded. "I think he'll surprise you. Last night, no one would have blamed him if he killed Brown and Bushing. Yet he did not."

"Given what they did to him, that's not too encouraging. He also has not required a therapist."

"For which I am thankful. I fear for that therapist. He does recognise that however. He was aware of that at Mountain Glenn when Emerald could have done with one. He is aware of normality, even if it does not apply to him."

"I'm not going to win this argument, am I?"

"If Mercury passes the final test tomorrow, then what you or I think is irrelevant. We can't avoid it."

Of all the tests, the final one was always going to be the one Crawford would fail if he was going to. It was what the majority of students failed on.

"I'm just saying I think he needs more time."

"And if he fails, then he'll accept another two years at Beacon amicably. He can easily enter the third year with everyone else. The students know what happened to him; they wouldn't push him."

All the evidence had shown Crawford was normal if a little anti-social compared to his group of friends. That was part of the problem; there was no evidence that he had tried to rip a woman's soul out. James was sure Crawford was showing them what they wanted to see.

"He murdered two people in the magical world."

"Indeed. Qrow would have done the same in the first instance and it was practical the second. However, we only have his account on the second murder. What I can say is that he is always careful to avoid innocents getting caught in the crossfire."

"Something he is likely to stop as soon as he's free."

"Possibly. We won't know until we have witness accounts to his behaviour when he thinks no one is watching."

"Ozpin. He is a high functioning, paranoid sociopath." James thought a moment before conceding. "Save for his family. I will give him that. Even then though, I think he thinks he _has_ to care about them. I believe he is a disaster waiting to happen."

"You missed out the nutjob description." Ozpin chuckled at James' face. "A 'paranoid, high functioning sociopathic nutjob'. His friends are aware of that and it's a bit of a joke with them. For him anyway; they don't like other sociopaths. I cannot deny that might be his mind-set though. Perhaps Mercury himself doesn't know…I do have a question for you James."

"I'm listening."

"You have two people, both capable of life changing and life ending actions. You have one person who has good intentions, but commits multiple crimes and manipulates people into doing his bidding. For a 'Greater Good', as it were. This is a man that cares about the forest, but does not see the trees. On the other hand, you have someone who you know is selfish and only moves in his own self-interest. However, all of his actions benefit everyone else as well as him. He will save a village because it has a restaurant he likes, but he still saves the entire village. Who is the more dangerous? Who do you trust more?"

Crawford had killed the changeling in Atlas. He may have done it because it had taken his shape, maybe he did it because a changeling was a very dangerous enemy to have in the war against Salem. He had still killed the changeling and that had saved many lives, even if that was not why Crawford had done it.

"That…is not easy to answer." However, put that way, James could see why Ozpin was not too worried. "I do see your point."

"The point is moot. We cannot fail him on the tests he has completed. Tomorrow is the most important test."

James accepted that. He pushed the tablet to the side. "How many of your students could pass it, do you think?"

Ozpin considered. "I would say four off the top of my head and even then I'm not confident. I do know that Ruby and Yang wouldn't pass it. The Emerald we met would. The Emerald now, I am not sure. Yours?"

"Honestly? Possibly six, depending on how they are feeling that day."

The Mane Graduation was designed to be far more difficult than the final exams at the end of fourth year. Remnant was very dangerous, very unpredictable and very unfair. By making the tests so hard, it discouraged students from trying to show off by taking it. They needed to be certain these kids would survive the real world. Since the schools were founded, only three had ever passed it.

"I said the same thing about Qrow," James reminisced. "He certainly surprised me. I suppose his son might too." He was sure Qrow aggravated him on purpose for his own amusement. Otherwise, he was a very good friend and look how he started out.

"I think that's why Mercury listens to him. Personally, I think that is the most telling. After everything Mercury went through with his father, he accepts Qrow as a stepfather. He shouldn't have done that, yet he did."

"Mr Crawford could destroy Remnant if he wanted." James was certain of that.

"I don't doubt it." Ozpin sounded very cheerful.

"Then let us hope he takes after his stepfather and not his father."

/

 ** _"We're a babysitting service now?"_**

 ** _She scowled as the man smirked at her and left her at the table._**

 ** _"Take heart child. You haven't had your chance yet."_**

 ** _"I am getting tired of waiting."_**

 ** _"Patience. Your time will come."_**

 ** _Grimm white skin and searing red eyes-_**

Emerald shot up. Panting. Heart hammering.

[Easy Maia. You're okay.]

Maia?

Right.

Maia.

[Yang. I-I'm okay.]

[I'm sorry.] Yang rubbed her back gently. [That was Salem, Maia.]

[S-Salem?] That _thing_ was Salem?

Ruby groggily woke up. "Maia?" Her eyes cleared instantly and she sat up. "Are you okay?"

"N-Nightmare. It'll pass." Need to move. Couldn't settle. Glanced down. Hand shaking. Emerald took a deep breath. "Get some air."

Emerald had had nightmares before.

Never one like that.

Meditation.

Emerald sat down, closed her eyes and deepened her breathing.

 _Focus._

 _Life. Search for life. Life is real and the nightmare is in the past. Not my memory._

Ruby was next to her now. Yang on her other side. Talaria curled up in the tent. Corona Moon sitting up near her home. Clay Hawthorne was standing guard with two others.

 _What is that? That feels like-_

A lightning bolt cracked to the ground.

The cat Grimm shot back. It had a three year old child in its jaws.

Ruby moved. Her energy collided with the dark aura.

Emerald opened her eyes.

The child was only on the ground for a moment. The Grimm snatched it up again and bounded up the cliff face. No one dared shoot.

Ruby went straight after it.

Yang grabbed her working gauntlet and followed, the path up very irregular.

Emerald took off as well, sticking to the canyon. She kept her eyes closed; kept feeling the environment. The Grimm stayed up on top of the cliffs and if it dropped the child, he would die. It also wasn't heading towards the exit to the canyon. It was using the snaking route instead.

The other Huntsmen were farther back than Ruby and Yang.

Ruby didn't have Crescent Rose with her and Yang had used up all her ammo. Emerald couldn't comment; she didn't have her weapons either.

It leapt off the top of the canyon into one of the dead ends and headed into the walls. Tunnels.

Emerald took a left turn, then a right. She entered the tunnels from a different hole in the wall; one that was near impossible to see in the daytime, never mind night.

Ruby followed the Grimm.

Yang was behind; too much to see where Ruby went.

 _Two unarmed teenagers against a cat-like Grimm in near pitch black, little room tunnels where the Grimm has a hostage. This is the most ridiculous situation I have ever been in._

If Ruby could get the child away from the Grimm, then Emerald could electrocute it. The problem was that they had been only ten feet away from it earlier and hadn't seen it. Would never have known it was there. There was no way Ruby could see it now. Emerald only could because she could feel it. The child was still alive and physically unharmed, but he was silent.

 _Okay. I make Ruby hallucinate my orders and descriptions, but we'll only get one shot at this._

With Ruby behind it, she would end up on the same side as Emerald. With Yang not following, Emerald could then attack it properly.

They had to time this perfectly.

Ruby had yet to run into a wall so she was somehow managing.

Emerald reached out with her Semblance. {Ruby, when I say, use your Semblance to go up and then forward at a bit of an angle. Twist to grab the kid and get behind me.} She made sure to include images with her instructions. She wasn't sure how much Ruby could see.

She 'saw' Ruby nod her head. She was right behind the Grimm now.

The Grimm was staring at Emerald. It bared its back teeth. The child shook a little in its jaws.

Emerald sent a breeze against the underbelly.

{Now!}

It jolted a little in surprise; bounced a bit.

In the millisecond that the jaws loosened the tiniest amount, Ruby snatched the child.

Emerald side-stepped to avoid getting crashed into. Ruby hugged the child close, protected him from the danger and sight of the coming fight. They relied on Emerald to protect them.

Emerald would not disappoint.

Shard of rock shot out of the walls. The Grimm had no time to react. It was speared and pinned.

It didn't roar. It didn't show any anger or hate. It just studied her.

It took a lot of electricity and rock spears to kill it.

It just stared at her.

Even as it dissolved, it just stared at her.

* * *

Friday.

Crawford looked at the fire pit. He looked at Ozpin. He looked at the fire pit. He looked at Ozpin.

"Can I at least mention to the others that there was a lava pool involved?"

Ozpin considered. "That only Mercury."

Upon reflection, James had no issue with that either. If anything, it would give the students the wrong impression and less likely to succeed.

Crawford studied the small cavern around him. There was nothing there; not even a pebble. All there was: a fire pit fifteen feet along and twelve feet across reaching from wall to wall. The ceiling was barely above head height.

"So what's this test?"

"It is a scenario. You are leading a clan of people to their homeland. This is your obstacle in the path. No one has aura, including you. No one has weapons other than police guns, including you. There are several small children in your group, babies included, and there are elderly people also. You are running low on food and ammunition. Your job is to get across to the other side of the pit to continue your journey."

There was a brief silence.

"…And what qualities is this supposed to test?"

"That's part of the test."

Crawford thought for a moment. "And I assume that leaving someone behind is an automatic fail."

It was that attitude that worried James about this teenager.

However, Ozpin was not wrong in that this would still be a mind-set that saved everyone, even for the wrong reasons.

"How long do I have?"

"As long as you need."

"And how helpful can you be?"

"As helpful as one of the clan members would be."

"So how did they get past this before?"

That was not a question any of the others had asked. James rested his head on his knuckles. He was looking for troubling behaviour and attitude, but he tried to be open to positive.

At the moment, Crawford was asking for advice from someone more familiar with the situation than him. That was a good sign.

"They originally had a…shall we say…ramp like ladder. They were aware this was here. However, you lost it and the materials during a prior Grimm attack. Nothing remains."

Crawford began to pace along the edge. He was taking in information. "How long can the weakest manage being near this lava pool?"

This had not been considered but it was another point in his favour. "In these conditions, less than two minutes. However, they are staying back so you can study the path forward without worrying about them."

Crawford stopped and considered. "Without aura, we wouldn't be able to get within five feet of this without serious and probably fatal problems. Babies can't go anywhere near it."

That Crawford knew that was a good sign. Many people these days thought that lava was harmless until they literally fell into it and even then they thought they had time to escape.

"This is a hypothetical scenario Mercury. Hence why there is no time limit. Your lack of aura is mainly to remove the more…obvious solutions. For the sake of argument, let's say the babies have the same resistance as an adult."

James smiled at that.

"Spoilsport." Crawford returned his attention to the fire pit. "Okay. If there are babies, then we either play catch with them, which would almost certainly kill them, or we find a different way. Very few people can jump that distance and even less with the height available…"

This was going to take some time. The record had been five hours.

James was honestly looked forward to the result. From what he was hearing so far (even if he was uncertain why Crawford was brainstorming aloud), there was a possibility he would make a fine Huntsman, even if it was for all the wrong reasons.

This test was the most telling of them all.

/

It was difficult to say Ruby woke up. She had never dropped off back to sleep after…

There was no sign of Dawn. It was thought she had been taken by that cat Grimm Wednesday night and no one had noticed…

Today, they were going hunting for the third one and place extra security to avoid a repeat of last night.

REY were guarding the village. The adult Huntsmen had decided that the three were good enough to manage if it appeared there and it wouldn't be able to hide in the night again. They would be back before that.

Emerald remained in a meditative stance, sitting against one of the walls near the entrance. Once they learned she was trying to sense intruders the way she had last night, everyone left her be. Ruby made sure she ate and drank, but also let her be otherwise.

Later in the morning, Emerald began to play a song on her ocarina.

The mood in the village seemed to relax as the soft notes carried.

At the moment, Yang was entertaining most of the children.

Ruby was near Falkner and his parents. He was playing with a plastic digger as if nothing had happened last night.

Talaria landed on her shoulder. She chittered and nuzzled her cheek.

"Thanks girl."

Ruby finally looked away and focused on the damaged Ember Celica. Her toolbox was next to her. The casing might look a little odd when Ruby was done, but she would work. She would fix that part when they got back home.

Tension began to seep out of her as she slipped into a meditation of her own.

/

"Okay. I give up."

One hour.

Mercury had set that target for himself, though he hadn't expected to need to hold himself to it. Once the hour was completed however, he accepted the fact.

He couldn't do it.

The scenario was so remarkably unlikely that it was almost laughable. How convenient that he had to search for mundane, yet genius solution. Maybe they were only looking for one solution, so they had to remove everything else. There was nothing in the cavern that could help, there was nothing within the clan that could help and there was nothing he would have that could help.

Leaving people behind was not allowed. In this situation, that would be near everyone except those that deserve medals for the long jump.

There was no practical way to get a fully grown, healthy person across. It followed that no one unhealthy (age or sickness or whatever) could get across.

This was a waste of time now.

Ozpin held his gaze firmly and blankly. "You give up?"

Mercury glanced back at the lava pool. "Yeah, I admit defeat. Honestly, if this was _somehow_ the actual situation, I would have given up ages ago and backtracked to find a different route." He began walking back the way they came. "I'll see you at the beginning of next year, Headmaster."

With him taking the advanced course, he knew the material of the following years. He would help the others learn and could use his spare time better. Before, Jaune and Pyrrha had organised the materials necessary for their study sessions, but he could do that now. He would ask to move his work for the garage and escape room to the weekends; he would sit down and talk with his bosses about that.

Perhaps Jagoda would be willing to teach him some things about video making. That gave her to more time to focus on her studies if she needed it and gave them more flexibility when others from different years were voice recording.

"Mercury."

Ozpin hadn't moved, so he wanted to talk. Confused as to why as he thought that not knowing the answer was the result for the rest of his life, Mercury turned back.

He caught the object thrown at him. It looked very familiar. In fact, it was almost the same as the flask Qrow had. "Ozpin, I'm disappointed not depressed." He looked at the man, hiding a scowl. Thinking on what he could put in this other than alcohol, he supposed it could be useful in the future. "What is this? A consolation prize?"

"Congratulations Mercury Crawford. You passed the Mane Graduation, with distinction."

Mercury waited a second to make sure he hadn't misunderstood, though there was little to misunderstand. He glanced at the lava pool before returning his attention to Ozpin.

Ozpin smiled. "Mercury, the task was impossible. You chose not to attempt it and instead give up. That was the correct answer."

Interesting.

Throughout all the previous tests, especially the Edrad test, there was an underlining determination. With one task left, it was very tempting to just keep trying until a solution presented itself. That was why Mercury thought there was only one solution. That there wasn't one at all honestly hadn't crossed his mind.

"So this was a test of judgement."

"Yes. Stubbornness is a useful trait and so is pride, but they need to be tempered. You can make the jump across the pit. If you had or submitted any solution, then you would have failed."

 _This is the most likely reason the Mane Graduation was kept under wraps. If the participants knew that the answer in the last test was to give up…_

Mercury smiled. "Making a scenario that is challenging but not so obviously impossible to give the game away must have been difficult."

Ozpin chuckled. "For you, even more so. We normally have resources scattered around the cave to make the impression stronger, but we couldn't be sure you wouldn't find a legitimate way across for yourself and others using them."

Mercury had thought the cave was unnaturally bare.

He brought the flask up. "So this is for the celebratory drink?"

"It's a gift from me and in some Kingdoms, you are old enough to drink. It holds temperature remarkably well. I'm sure you'll find a use for it."

Qrow style, in other words.

Mercury turned it over. "You want me to be a teenager."

"You are a qualified Huntsman Mercury. Do what you will."

 _I do have a list of things on my to-do list. I wonder…_

"If the girls wind up destroying Beacon now, what does that do for the betting pool?"

Ozpin took a moment to consider that. "I believe we all need to make new bets. First, we have some paperwork to complete."

"The root of all evil. That's why I'll never take over the world."

"No, you'll destroy it."

"And how am I supposed to pass the time after everyone is dead? Everyone who wants to commit genocide is being very short sighted in my opinion."

"Mercury, never go into politics."

/

After lunch, Yang sat down next to Emerald and began to play her kalimba. Both were familiar tunes; both sang through the air in perfect union.

Ruby had already decided she wanted to play an instrument. She wanted something that complimented theirs.

All of the Huntsmen returned to the village an hour before sunset. They had been unsuccessful in finding the third cat Grimm. Emerald had stabbed it through the eye with a silver Dust dagger, so maybe it had learned to stay away.

Mr Soarlane sat down next to Ruby as many of the villagers remained near the musicians. "Well Ruby? Did you enjoy your stay?"

"I did yes. I also learned a lot."

"…What did you learn?"

Ruby subconsciously counted the children. There was one missing. There would always be one missing.

"It was always a dream. Being a Huntress. Yes, bad things happened. My family did their best to shelter me from that and when they couldn't, prepare me for it. I try to learn. I try to learn from bad things; how to do things better. We failed in that. People died. This is the Remnant that I knew existed, but you don't see within the Kingdom walls."

Yang was looking right at her. She continued to play without missing a beat.

"You saved Falkner last night. Completely suicidal but you didn't hesitate in going after him. We will always be grateful for that. You and your team are welcome anytime."

"He's just a scared kid. I'd do it again any day, no matter how many scoldings I get." She turned her head a little to see his face. "Do you have kids?"

He had that smile. A smile that was so common on many parents. "I do. They're grown up now. Living their own lives. One's a Huntsman and the other's a lawyer."

"So which has the more dangerous job?"

Mr Soarlane chuckled. He then settled his gaze on Ruby's sisters once more. "So you don't want to quit?"

Ruby didn't need to think on that.

"No. It's the best job in the world. Just look at those kids. They're happy and full of hope. That's worth fighting for. Every tear shed is worth that one second of joy."

* * *

 **AN: I am sorry this chapter has taken so long to write and I know it is very long. I stop chapters where it is a natural place and in this case, that was the end of the week.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	26. Developments

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Once again, Mercury had been summoned to Ozpin's office. This time though, it was an ask rather than a request. There was a meeting between Ozpin, Ironwood and Qrow and he was invited. That was quite the compliment.

The meeting was at seven. Mercury had slept in the dorms after a night out with the entire year group. BRN were heading to their mission next week and with REY's return and Mercury's passing the Mane Graduation, high spirits all around. They had only got back at around five in the morning and everyone else was sleeping in.

 _At least I hadn't needed to babysit everyone. Can't deny it was a fun night out though. Just as well as it was probably my last night with all of them. Odd how they've slipped into 'ally' territory despite all the drama._

Mercury hadn't known Amber Autumn would be there as well, though he supposed it made sense. The Fall Maiden was for the Beacon Relic and she probably knew about Salem already, so why wouldn't she be here?

Qrow wasn't there yet. He was the one they were waiting on.

Mercury leaned against one of the pillars silently. Ironwood and Ozpin were discussing academics; something about organising the many missions fourth years had to do. Autumn seemed to be having a conversation with someone on her scroll.

Five minutes later, Qrow showed up. He ruffled Mercury's hair, who shoved him off with a playful scowl and fixed the mess.

Qrow looked at Ozpin. "I hear you're trying to turn my son into an alcoholic?"

Mercury snorted. Even Autumn seemed in agreement, chuckling a little herself.

"Like father, like son," Mercury quipped.

Qrow gave him a look.

"I gave him a reason to refuse a drink without bothering the person he is spending time with for whatever reason," Ozpin replied casually. "People will think it's odd someone his age would refuse."

That fact Mercury had noticed and it had been really annoying until the message got through. Even more annoying was the fact he had to drill it into the majority of people he met.

 _Also gives others the ability to tell me from a very idiotic changeling._

"Shall we get on topic?" Ironwood asked.

"What is the plan for the Vytal Festival next year?" Mercury started off with. He thought that was the biggest problem that they knew of, save for the high number of nutjobs running around.

"A good place to start," Ozpin agreed. "I don't suppose the simple solution of Remedy not attending is viable?"

Mercury shrugged. "No way Ruby and Yang would agree to that except for a really good reason. To be fair, this would count. Rainbow would have passed on enough for them to figure that out though." He considered. "That is assuming they don't know Spring already."

"The cat Grimm are a new development and their fixation on Ms Ryu does seem like an odd coincidence." Interesting that Mercury and Ironwood agreed on something. "It might be for the best she doesn't go to Haven."

Qrow chuckled. "Yeah, I don't see that happening."

Autumn spoke up. "If we can't stop her from going, then what if we move the Relic from its hiding place? Mercury's Semblance allows us to bypass the Headmaster and Emerald can take it."

Mercury could see that but there was another problem. "Then what do we do with it? A hiding place is only good if no one finds it. I don't think a cookie jar would do the job."

"I think I disagree."

All eyes went to Ozpin.

"Do you recall the Fidelius Charm?"

Mercury thought back. "Yes…?"

Autumn considered. "That would be the obscure charm the Potters used to hide, correct?"

"Not that it did them much good," Mercury noted. "Should have just dosed everyone with Veritaserum from the beginning. Or been their own Secret Keeper." He had never learned the reason they didn't do that. It would have solved all their problems.

Ozpin stared straight at Mercury. "Do you think it is possible to construct something similar using Dust powered Runes?"

That was a fascinating idea. It was also far more ambitious than the good luck charm he had made Qrow. On top of that, he couldn't just look it up as the books didn't exist here. He began to run theories through his mind. "It… _might_ be possible. I can't say until I actually try but I think it _might_ be possible."

"What is this Fidelius Charm?" Ironwood asked. "You didn't mention that."

"The ultimate cheat in hide and seek," Qrow commented. "Put a location under a Fidelius Charm and it can't be found unless you're told by a very specific person: the Secret Keeper. You could be looking straight at it and not see it." He turned back to Mercury. "How do you think this will work?"

"Well obviously it's not going to work exactly the same. There's also the problem that more powerful combinations have to be recharged by aura eventually and this will definitely need it. Maybe…I can get the person whose aura it is to act as 'Secret Keeper'. The problem then becomes if that Secret Keeper dies suddenly and the charge still has a few years in it. I'm not sure what would happen next. I'll test a few ideas and see what I can do."

Ironwood thought it over. "So let's say the Relic had these Runes and Crawford charged the aura. It could be sitting on the desk and none of us would see it except him?"

"That's the theory. I don't know if I could tell anyone and that part work, but it's easy enough to remove my aura and let someone else…" He trailed off as he looked as Ozpin. "When you reincarnate, is your aura the same?"

There was hesitation there. "It is very similar. It is not exactly identical."

Mercury considered. The Ozpin spirit went from host to host, so the new host's aura would affect the ancient one. Maiden power was affected and that didn't take such a conscious role in the host's life. The problem remained.

"Even so…" Ironwood took a moment to think. "It would be a useful stopgap measure for this year. If it is doable. Would the magic of the Relic affect the Runes?"

"No idea," Mercury replied. "But probably. My thought was a box or something to contain it." He was curious as to what the Relic actually did, but given that this one was _Knowledge,_ Mercury was happy not knowing. Honestly using any of them (even Choice) seemed like a bad idea.

"A simple bag wouldn't do it," Ozpin warned. "But it is better than altering the Relics themselves."

"What about the bottomless bags?"

"Still say you should sell them," Qrow muttered.

"Far too much of a security risk," Ironwood countered.

"Hardly a security risk when everyone wears their weapons out in the open."

Autumn rolled her eyes. Mercury had genuinely missed this argument. They hadn't wanted Dust powered Runes getting out, so everyone had been very careful who knew about them. They had been pulling off 'impossible' feats before they started using them, so the kids thought nothing of their games now.

"Back on topic," Autumn cut in. "Where exactly is the Relic in Haven?"

Ozpin took a moment to answer. "In the entry foyer, there's a statue. Leonardo has an object that allows it to act as a lift to the entrance to the Vault."

"Easy enough," Mercury commented. "Is that it?"

"You know that only Spring can continue but that is the main obstacle."

"There is also the issue of the teachers-" Ironwood continued.

Mercury waved a hand. "Even easier. We won't be caught. The question remains: what to do with it after?"

No one commented on his casual dismissal of the teachers of Haven. They were probably thinking more on Emerald's Semblance than Mercury's stealth skills. Mercury's stealth skills were only rubbish in video games.

"For the short term, a bottomless bag would be able to contain it," Ozpin conceded. "However, it cannot stay there long term."

"Doable. Does Haven have cameras?" Because if it did, Mercury would have to disable them and that would add time and increase the odds of complications.

"Not at the moment but something I am considering." Ironwood was serious. How amusing and beneficial. "There is the fact that Mistral is the biggest Kingdom and so my men will be more stretched than before."

"Not helped by the fact the Mistral Huntsmen are disappearing." All eyes went on Mercury. It took him a moment to place why. "No one else noticed?"

"People have been disappearing all over the planet, Mercury." Autumn tilted her head. "So what are you saying?"

"Save Vale." Which was very odd, come to think of it. Compared to everywhere else, Vale City got off easy. There had to be a reason behind that. "But even for Mistral, something's wrong."

Ironwood shook his head. "There's been nothing to suggest that anything unusual is happening there."

Mercury rolled his eyes. "If you say so. Personally, I find it odd that the majority of them have been on missions recently and a lot of those didn't return."

Qrow took a drink from his flask. "Silvertongue, have I told you that you're paranoid?"

"Not for…" Mercury checked his scroll. "Twenty two hours."

"Then I'm overdue. You're being paranoid. They're probably not returning home because they took jobs somewhere else."

Mercury shrugged. Qrow knew the Huntsmen in Mistral; he didn't. He might think Qrow was wrong, but the man had more reason to think the better scenario. Besides, with many Huntsmen dying for whatever reason in recent months, demand was high and so recent graduates from Combat Schools were taking jobs often above their experience.

It was something Mercury was going to take advantage of.

"However, it might be something to keep in mind," Ironwood noted. "The White Fang were active around Vale when the target was Beacon. They are likely to be near Mistral this time also."

Autumn spoke. "What has been happening with the White Fang? They have been quiet recently."

"Not exactly," Qrow responded. "There was an attack on a large caravan two weeks ago in Anima. It was initially written off as a bandit attack, but it wasn't. A nice attempt to disguise it, but the White Fang were responsible."

Ironwood frowned. "A caravan? What was it carrying?"

"Funnily enough, no one knows. It wasn't an official one, everything had been taken and there were no survivors."

"Nice and shady," Mercury commented. He would mention it to Blake later.

"Not all relief aid is official," Ozpin replied. "Some people organise it with the government's tacit approval but there's no paperwork."

"Which brings the question of how they knew where to attack. And it might not be relief aid."

Ozpin tilted his head to acknowledge the point.

Ironwood seemed equally worried. "Your paranoia may have merit. Perhaps there is someone is Mistral working for Salem."

Qrow gave him a flat look. "How you been to Mistral recently?"

Autumn smiled with a shake of the head. She took a deep breath. "It might be a bit difficult to determine who is after quick money and those that work for her directly or by proxy. The Headmaster is a problem in of himself."

There was a moment of quiet.

Mercury had a question. "How long has Lionheart been the Headmaster?" Surely he wasn't the first since the Great War, but if he knew so much about Krystal Umi he might have been her Headmaster. He had been Autumn's.

"Thirty years," Ozpin answered quietly.

 _Oh joy. Okay. Good amount of time and a lot of history there. No wonder they're still not sure even now._

Mercury chose to let the point go.

 _Maybe I should look into him when I get there. Possibly look for places to put a listening device in his office. They're easy enough to get in Mistral._

"What are your plans for the next year, Crawford?" Ironwood obviously had something in mind. Two spies was better than one and while Qrow had the advantage of changing into a crow, Mercury had the advantage of being young and looking harmless. As far as he was aware, no one but his family and Ozpin knew about Fluffy.

"When the girls go back to Beacon, take a ship to Anima and walk to Haven, taking jobs along the way." He could get to Haven in a matter of months or days depending on how he travelled, but he wanted more 'normal' life experience. That was what Mercury lacked.

Besides, being on the road would stave off boredom more than staying in Mistral City for nearly a year.

Ironwood's gaze went to Qrow.

Qrow shrugged. "He's going alone." He thought some more. "Save if Talaria decides to tag along." He turned to Mercury. "Which I think she should."

"Yeah. I know. I plan to."

Vipertooth didn't normally live in packs and the last known pack had been one hundred and twenty years prior, but they were intelligent enough to adapt to them if need be despite never being taught. However, she was a predator and Mercury didn't think being in a house for the rest of her life was good for her. She was trained, not tame or domesticated. She still had wild instincts and she was obviously very intelligent. She needed constant enrichment and was tied to the family now, never mind the fact this wasn't even her Earth.

Mercury had raised Talaria from a hatchling. He would admit to himself he was very attached to her.

"Who has access to her anti-venom?" Ironwood did have a valid concern there.

"At the moment, Beacon infirmary and all the hospitals in the Kingdom of Vale. No more as far as I know." And Mercury himself.

"And you." Ironwood caught on.

"And me." After all, it wouldn't do that Talaria bit someone that he wanted to keep alive and he didn't have it. When he couldn't get them help, the 12 minutes it took her wasn't any different to the 3 minutes it took the original Vipertooth, save that they would have longer to write an epitaph.

Mercury had no doubt Ironwood would stop at the infirmary to pick some up. Mercury had only allowed a certain amount to be produced as Talaria had come very close to biting Dr Waterbrook after one too many milking sessions. None of the others had taken her back as Talaria flat out refused to cooperate and became aggressive.

However, Talaria did allow Mercury to milk her and so he had venom in liquid form as well as the anti-venom.

 _Small wonder Ironwood is worried that I am carrying around lethal poison that no hospital can treat._

Unknown to Ironwood, Mercury didn't have much venom at the moment. He had used a lot of it over the last few weeks to train his immune system to fight it if the venom ever ended up in his own blood for whatever reason. Emerald hadn't been happy with his little routine, but she had confirmed he was now immune before she left last week when they tested double the fatal dose on him.

Ozpin moved on. "Has there been any news on Venus Solgale?"

Ironwood scowled. "No. She's gone underground. It is thought she's left Atlas and there have been possible sightings in Vacuo. That cannot be confirmed."

Vacuo was tricky like that.

Mercury opened his mouth.

"No," Qrow cut in without turning around. Mercury stayed quiet. Given what he had planned, it was best not to press. Qrow continued. "If she's smuggling tech and Dust, then she's got to be using docks or old checkpoints. Something that size…Someone must have seen something."

"But how do you find them?" Autumn asked.

"Normally blind luck."

Mercury snorted.

Ironwood rubbed his temples. "Very productive Qrow."

"That's reality." Qrow was completely unapologetic. "But I'll see what I can do."

"Then we'll continue this discussion next month." Ironwood gave each a respectful nod and leave.

Before he could follow, Ozpin called him back. "Mercury, I need to speak with you."

 _What now?_

Autumn left without another word. Qrow waited a moment with a raised eyebrow.

"Tonight." Mercury had business in Vale today.

"Of course." He followed Autumn, who had waited for him. They vanished in the hum of the elevator.

Mercury took the seat in front of Ozpin. "What now?"

"It concerns the Dust drug ring that Tuddar stumbled across."

"Pretty sure you shouldn't be discussing it with me."

Ozpin sighed. "Mercury. The only connection you have to Raine is Yang. She was the one who asked you to go." It was a statement, so Mercury didn't say anything. "Tuddar is awake and is not being very cooperative."

"I'll bet. But why talk with it for me? As you said, I barely know ARTS."

"True. None of the students are displaying unusual behaviour…"

"Not that I would really notice unless they did something ridiculous." From the sound of it, Tuddar had hid his addiction well.

"But it is very rarely one student."

Mercury didn't know that, but it made sense. "So I ask again: why talk with it with me?"

"I know full well a lot of gossip does not make it to the teachers. What I want is for you is to acquire the dealer's records. We need to know if this is a new group with a few local clients or something far more sophisticated."

Mercury leaned back as he thought. A job was a job. "Any preference of how I get these records?"

"Stealth. In and out. No one finds out you were there or involved in any way. As few deaths as you can manage. Otherwise, I leave that to you."

That was a lot of flexibility. The few kills was a bit of a complication, but drug gangs often had a lot of contacts so fair enough. "Any particular timetable to work to?"

"Before you leave for Anima, but preferably as soon as you can manage."

There was one more question then. "When is Tuddar discharged?"

"The day after tomorrow. He'll return to Beacon then, but I don't believe he'll talk to you."

No, Tuddar wouldn't. However, there was plenty Mercury could learn. Still, why pick him? "How many Huntsmen are in Vale right now?" With the 'Undesirables' possibly involved, it was dangerous for the police.

"Three that are unattached to responsibilities, Qrow included."

Mercury frowned. "That's it? Aren't there dozens of Huntsmen that live around here?"

Ozpin shook his head slightly. "Not recently. They have taken jobs around the globe."

 _I knew some of them had left, but it's that bad? Good grief._

"Sure then."

"Six figures enough for you?"

Mercury raised an eyebrow. That was a lot of money. It could be high risk, but it was simple enough and if he played his cards right, it wouldn't take long. "For my first proper job, yeah."

"Be careful. There might be other people who will recognise you."

Mercury knew that.

He also knew these people had very high bounties on them.

"Did Qrow refuse before you came to me?" You don't entrust things like this to rookies, which in a way Mercury was.

Ozpin sighed. "No. I would prefer Qrow but I need someone the students trust." Mercury gave him an incredulous look. "You do qualify for that Mercury. I've seen it."

"Uh huh." Mercury wasn't commenting on that. He stood up and headed to the lift. Once he got there though, he stopped. Something had been bothering him since the day he learned everything behind closed doors. "Can I ask something personal?"

"You can."

"What was your name? Before Ozpin came."

…

"Do you know who the last person to ask me that was?"

It didn't require much thought. "Harry."

"Harry." Ozpin let out a breath. Mercury would describe it as wistful. "It is or was Conall Sandor."

Is or was.

"Professor." With that, Mercury left.

* * *

Yang left early, before Ruby and Emerald got up. She intended to be back before they woke up and she thought her odds were good. Mercury being gone already was nothing new.

She had a destination in mind: Junior's bar. She had been there with ARTS on three occasions and maybe Junior would know something about the Dust drugs Tuddar managed to get hold of. He normally knew a lot about the Vale Underground.

She walked down the streets and stopped. She had seen something off a few seconds ago. She backtracked and looked around.

Fluffy was lying on top of a wall.

"Really?" Yang asked.

Fluffy flicked his tail. He tilted his head.

"That's none of your business."

Fluffy stood and walked forward. He pressed his head against Yang's arm.

Yang focused on his aura…

And was immediately annoyed at Ozpin. [Why the hell did he pick you?] She placed her hand on Fluffy's head. [What was does he want that list for?]

[Artemis, Tuddar's still allowed at Beacon. He needs healthcare, therapy and I don't know what else. If he's studying at Beacon, maybe they're providing for it. I don't think Ozpin was wrong when he said there are probably more students. He can hardly provide care for one and ignore the others if they come forward. How much money is he supposed to put aside?]

Yang could see that. She didn't know how Mercury came to that conclusion, but it wasn't his normal 'worst case scenario and this person is not to be trusted' thought. He had heard that somewhere, not from Ozpin, and had seen evidence for it. She let that be. [But why you?]

[He needs someone that can talk to the students but not rat them out. I checked though. Save for Qrow and the teachers, the only other Huntsmen in Vale is a last year graduated team: WEAT.]

Well, that was a good point. Mercury did have their respect, if nothing else. And WEAT were made up of privileged children with little life experience even with the school missions. She glanced around before nodding. She stepped back. "Coast's clear. Change back and you can tag along to meet my friend."

Fluffy gave her a foxy grin. He hopped down, shifting into Mercury halfway.

Junior's club wasn't too far. She would have preferred her bike, but she had left it at home as she didn't want to leave it somewhere it could be stolen.

"There are plenty of Top Ten videos Yang. Besides, there's only one episode of the dub out and over five thousand people have watched it. Why not stick with that for now?"

"Five thousand isn't a big number Mercury."

"It is when it's only been a week and the game came out over a decade ago."

The recording had been done the week before they went on their mission, but they had delayed it so they could update weekly and they hadn't had the time to record this week.

"Did you see Jagoda about next year?"

"Yeah. She says it will need full bars, but the transfer should go well."

The idea was that they had Mercury on the scroll when recording with him and he would record quite a bit on his own to send in an attachment. It was doable; some animated films were very successful despite the fact the voice actors never met each other or recorded together.

"Is Jagoda trying to get back into the recording business?"

Yang considered. "I'm not sure. I know she only attended Combat Schools because of her parents. I think she's using us to test if she wants to do something similar as a career."

"She seemed pretty confident at her ability to filter out background noise. Apparently, I'm not even going to sound digital when recorded over the scroll."

"That would be a boon for the business." If Jagoda managed that, she would be able to walk any job interview in that area. "She's also thinking about remixing some of the soundtracks."

Mercury thought that over. "I'm in agreement about that actually. Not the main theme obviously, but I think that supposed depressed tune would sound better on a piano."

Maybe. "Are you volunteering?"

He scoffed. "I have no interest in playing an instrument."

Yang shrugged. "Maybe we could get the music club involved."

"They do seem to have a lot of free time."

The sight of Junior's club was almost a disappointment. "It takes time and practice to get good at a skill Eris."

Mercury jerked his head in casual agreement.

Grinning, Yang pushed open the outer doors and sauntered to the main two leading to the dancefloor. By unspoken agreement, Mercury stayed behind her.

The look on the two 'bouncers' faces was comical. They immediately ran inside.

"This should be good," Mercury murmured behind her.

In response, Yang just blasted the door open.

"Again, how do you intend to pay for that if he brings it to court?"

"He won't," she whispered back. She strolled in. All eyes were on her. "Guess who's back?"

Her welcome was a load of guns in her face.

 _Yep. Definitely made an impression._

"I'm liking your definition of 'friend'." Mercury was certainly amused.

"Stop, stop! Nobody shoot." The crowd parted to allow Junior through. "Blondie. Back again. Why?"

"You still owe me a drink. And don't skip out on the umbrella."

Mercury's paranoia was frustrating on the best of days, but having an assassin watching your back was very reassuring. He didn't even require payment. While Yang was sure nothing would happen, she couldn't shake the scenarios that he had put in her head when he heard about her trashing the club originally and Emerald's comment about pissing off someone in Vacuo brought those thoughts back to the front of her mind.

Besides, now that Mercury was a Huntsman, he would be getting information in places like this. She'd help him get a foot in the door.

She would save the 'I told you so' until _after_ they left.

Junior did actually get her strawberry sundae with an umbrella once he was behind the bar. She raised it in a salute and took a few sips. It was a good one too.

"And you?" Junior addressed Mercury.

"I'll pass."

Junior shrugged and looked back to Yang. "What do you want Blondie?"

"Dust drugs Junior. What do you know?"

He hesitated a moment there. "Dust drugs? Don't get caught up in that Blondie. It'll only end badly."

"It'll end badly for you if you don't tell me what I want to know."

He considered, then shrugged. "Your funeral. The guy you want to talk to goes by 'Fizzer'. He's the one dealing them to kids like you."

"And where do we find Fizzer?"

"Warehouse 16 every Tuesday. He had to change it after a buy gone bad a few days ago. Fair warning Blondie: it's never the same after and not worth it."

"I disagree," Mercury replied. "But thanks for the info."

"Just don't expect me at your funeral."

Yang downed her drink. "Come Merc. Time to go."

He dutifully followed her out of the club. They were a few streets away when Mercury spoke.

"Interesting guy."

"I told you so."

Mercury snorted. "Oh he certainly knew more, but that's enough for what I need. No need to burn that bridge I suppose."

"No fighting. And keep me in the loop."

"Like I said, I don't plan to for the first. The second I'll decide when I see the list for myself."

Yang wanted to go with him but she was very aware he operated best on his own. She was also aware that, while he sucked in video games, Mercury was a master of stealth in reality. Yang was rubbish at that in both video games and real life.

 _Oddly enough, Jaune is the best at mandatory stealth sections. And screw water levels._

"How about the 'top ten times we failed at stealth in video games'?"

"Title needs work. And I get the feeling it's going to be mainly your playthroughs."

If that was his only complaint, then Yang had already won.

Mercury would keep her in the loop of relevant information. She also might be able to help him as Raine was far more likely to talk to her than him.

Ozpin might have given the assignment to Mercury, but he was essentially saying 'let me know numbers and keep an eye on certain risk students without breaking their confidence within reason'.

Yang was more than willing to help whatever way she could.

* * *

Monday night saw Qrow shadowing a recently graduated team: WEAT. They had accepted a bounty for an 'Undesirable' (Adrian Green) and recent info put that target in Vale. Ozpin had contacted Qrow when he found out; he didn't think this particular team was ready for something like that.

From what Qrow could see, he would agree.

They had started well; going to the police station for information, asking security companies for their public footage and even visiting the places the target had been seen.

The issue was that they were _too_ by the book. No initiative or deviations. He had checked with Oz what missions they had gone on at Beacon and the majority of them were Grimm extermination. Three had been in smaller villages and even then there was nothing that required more than following orders. Very little life experience.

Graduating appeared to have gone to their heads. A lot of kids died that way.

Green had been one Qrow had brought in and he had a nasty parlour trick: jealousy and paranoia amplifier. Let him touch for too long and the victim can become as crazed as a serial killer. His MO was that he very rarely killed his victims himself, but took advantage of the people around him.

The Semblance was known and in the job description, but Qrow very much doubted these kids realised how dangerous it was.

It has long been tradition to not get involved in a job if someone else has taken it. If they fail, then it was fair game but Huntsmen did not tend to take a mission someone else has without a very good reason and without the current task-doers consent.

Just watching these kids for an hour told Qrow he wouldn't be welcome.

The quickest solution would be to find Green himself.

The issue with that he wouldn't be surprised if blind luck had the kids stumble across him first. That was normally the case with young teams. The targets sometimes watched the mission board as well and while most would stay out of sight, some took a perverse pleasure in taking out those they knew they could. Often slowly and painfully.

Qrow knew Green was one of the second group.

As risky as it was, the best way to keep them safe was to keep out of sight until Green revealed himself.

If he was still in this position next week, Qrow would reconsider his approach. Honestly, he was very doubtful these kids would last a week without help.

* * *

Tuesday rolled around fast enough.

With Marcus' training alone, Mercury would have been leaning towards the 'pose as a student that wants drugs to deal with problems' route. His captivity would pay dividends for that scenario and he would be able to snag some of those bounties pretty easily.

With Fluffy, he could play hide and follow. The only difficulty there was that black foxes were noticed in Vale, even if most people would dismiss him as an escaped exotic pet. However, after dark and using building's shadows, it was very easy to sneak around and no one ever thought of animals. Why would they? No Semblance recorded allowed someone to turn into an animal.

 _They also didn't have hallucinations in that remarkably long list, even after Maia enrolled, so there obvious and intentional omissions._

Send an aura animal into the air to act as recon, then he never needed to be in view of the target. People didn't tend to look up. At least, not above rooftop level. He blamed the recent surge of assassin games for that inconvenient paranoia.

Either way, he was set.

The only problem might be the red eyed crow that was hanging around near the warehouses.

 _Right. Do I go say 'hi' or ignore him?_

Crows didn't have great night vision but, as noted when planning, there weren't many black foxes running around Vale and from his view, he would most likely to be spotted. He wasn't looking this way, so his focus was elsewhere.

 _Screw it. He's probably on a job so I better not compromise it if I can. If he wants to say hi, he can raise a wing. Not like I'm doing anything wrong._

Warehouse 16 wasn't at the docks like the numbers 1-15, but instead at an 'abandoned' building site just on the edge of the city.

After a second look to make sure it was a crow and not a raven, Mercury returned to the business at hand.

 _Get in and out without anyone seeing. Ozpin, you do realise I could kill all these people and not be harmed, right?_

Probably.

But these guys were normally quite low on the ladder. They would have the local list of clients if they had one at all; but not the whole thing. If Dr Waterbrook was right about the additional funds to the infirmary and Vale hospitals, then Ozpin only needed the local list.

 _And given that this is Dust drugs rather than cannabis or something like that, the odds of there being a list is much higher. It does make me wonder where they are getting the Dust from. Shops haven't been hit recently._

He would ask Weiss about any inconsistences in paperwork or attacks later.

Rather than a winged fox, Mercury used something else as a drone. He had managed to get an aura bird of prey of his own. Rather than an eagle for Ruby, his was a falcon. As it wasn't his Simple or Guardian Form, he couldn't possess it but it also wouldn't show the individuality those Forms did. While he didn't think that would be a problem as he could control them easily, the last thing he needed was the fox to look the wrong way because it felt bored when he wasn't paying attention.

However, the falcon had to be commanded before it could move. It would just hover in position until Mercury moved it.

Also, if he put it in the right place, no one who could see it would think anything was wrong, which they would if they saw a winged fox.

The falcon landed on the Warehouse 16 roof. There was an excellent view of the area, save for those very close to the walls. With no windows and only one door, that was not much of an issue.

Mercury did note that the falcon had attracted Qrow's attention. But he was staying away and he soon looked away. He was shadowing someone else and was apparently worried enough not to leave them even for a few moments.

That was something to keep in mind. If Qrow anticipated trouble and he wasn't too far, then his caution was justified.

'Fizzer' (complete with nametag for who knew what reason) came out of the warehouse at nine o'clock on the dot with someone Mercury didn't recognise and two he did: Ashiel something and something Green. Mercury was immune to the latter's Semblance as he was paranoid already and jealousy was an emotion Mercury was literally incapable of feeling, like fear recently. Ashiel was an 'Undesirable' but he had never seen or heard the unknown one.

Fluffy took a good sniff. Tracking was beyond him at the moment as the length of time scents had been there was difficult to figure out. However, he could tell what was an immediate scent (in the area right now) and what was a past scent (was here before but not now).

He counted four scents where they should be. There was three others coming down the alley Fluffy was lying in. He was well hidden, so he wasn't worried.

All three were adults and definitely didn't attend Beacon.

Green stretched his arms. He put his hands behind his head and gave them an easy smile. To most people, he would look casual and relaxed.

Only experience allowed Mercury to spot that anticipatory glint in his eye. He was planning something.

Irritatingly, the seven headed back into the warehouse.

The nose said that there was no one else around.

The falcon's viewpoint agreed.

Fluffy dashed out of his cover and slipped into the open floor warehouse. Having scouted it earlier in the day, Mercury knew the layout of the contents inside. Official statements said that the warehouse was empty; Mercury knew there were boxes around and had a good route planned if needed. If this stuff was still here tomorrow at good hours, he would have a proper look in them. At the moment, he didn't want to endanger his chances.

That briefcase was new though.

The group were talking money. Mercury was getting the impression these were distributors and not clients. They certainly weren't showing the signs of addiction.

They were certainly all very relaxed. No adrenaline at all.

Five minutes and they hadn't moved on from money and quite low figures considering the trade.

"25K. Last offer." The unknown.

Fizzer shrugged. "Good for me. Good for the boss though…Heh…Who knows?"

"Please doing business with you." Green. He then left the warehouse with a casual whistle along with his friend from before.

Mercury let them go. They weren't his objective or his problem.

The falcon spotted a problem. The two men were being approached by four figures. They were slightly smaller people who vaguely looked familiar.

It took a full three seconds for him to remember that they had been in Beacon last year. WEAT, he was sure. He ignored that meeting outside for now.

Fluffy crept closer to the briefcase.

Ashiel was counting money. "How long you sticking around?"

"Hey, give the kids a chance. Tuesdays are horrible for whatever reason. Besides, red Dust is the best kick and we got some to sell this time."

Interesting. So red Dust hadn't been an option before. Red Dust was also the most likely Dust to get them killed in drug form, overdose or not. It was considered the most sought after on the market for a reason: it had the best 'kick'.

There was an explosion sound from outside.

Fluffy ignored it.

Fizzer jumped. Ashiel just looked up.

"What was that?"

There was another explosion.

 _These kids need to learn subtlety._

Through the falcon's eyes, there was a 'fight' going on outside. At least, between the unknown and the team. Green appeared to be enjoying himself and acting was a very entertained commentator. Curious seeing as he seemed to be the one they were gunning for, at the cost of ignoring the unknown.

Frankly, these kids were not worth the effort of going to help them if they were going to be this stupid. What a waste of four years and a team.

Fizzer pinched his nose. "This had better not scare off the customers."

Rather unlikely.

Ashiel snorted. "Oh please. They'll wait until it blows over and come back. How many are you waiting for?"

"Six." Fizzer opened the briefcase. A wave of sharp and sweet wafted out. He snagged a book and studied it. It snapped shut. "Six. And at least four will take the red and green and probably the mix too."

No mention of blue. Was that standard to get them hooked and the higher risk came later?

WEAT were now attacking each other. Green was fighting with a now human Qrow.

 _So he was shadowing them. From the few seconds I saw, smart idea._

Fluffy ignored the excitement outside.

But maybe he could use it.

Fluffy trotted along through the mini labyrinth to the corner. If he timed this right…

Someone hit the wall.

As if in response, one of the crates fell over.

Ashiel growled. "I'll go deal with this."

There went one.

"And if it's a customer? I'm going with you."

There went the other.

That was an unexpected bonus. If Qrow could keep them both busy outside, which was rather unlikely given he and Green had gotten quite some distance from the kids, then this was pretty easy.

And as there was only one way in or out, Fizzer was comfortable leaving his nice little book behind.

Fluffy shifted into Mercury. His scouting earlier had revealed no cameras and he had been pretty thorough.

There was a lock on the book. A set of lock picks made quick work of that.

 _Thanks for the birthday present Qrow._

Everyone was still outside. No one was even trying to separate WEAT. Qrow was in a three way fight at the moment.

Keeping an eye on them through the falcon, Mercury noted the book wasn't just a list of names. He did find what he was looking for, but he took pictures of every page and not just that one. He would sort through everything later.

Replacing the lock and the book, he left everything as he found it and shifted back to Fluffy. He walked through the wall on the far side. He took off at a run, far enough out to loop around the buildings around the site.

Back in the alley and finding no scents other than those he expected, he stayed hidden and waited. If Qrow started having problems, then he would intervene. From the stories he had heard from Zephyr about how he caught some of the Undesirables in the first place, he was impressed and probably wouldn't be needed.

Green didn't seem to be causing Qrow any problems. Fizzer obviously wasn't a fighter. Ashiel was…

Leaving.

 _Okay. Let's see if an opportunity presents itself._

WEAT were still infighting, but no one was paying them much attention, save for making sure they weren't going to be a problem.

The falcon remained on the roof. If needed, Mercury would change it to his Simple Form to help Qrow. At the moment, he didn't need it

Fluffy backtracked to follow Ashiel. The man was heading into the heart of Vale City. It wasn't necessarily witnesses Mercury was worried about; he had no idea what Ashiel could do.

 _Quickest and cleanest way is to shatter his aura. That shouldn't be a problem if I can get the right place._

Tuesday night. Not the most common night for partying, but it was also the last weeks of the school year. The last thing Mercury needed was a hostage situation.

Ashiel was making no differentiation between well-lit roads and just out of common sight.

Qrow had dealt with Green; the man was out cold. Qrow wasn't looking much better honestly, but he now had to deal with the problem with WEAT at each other's throats.

 _And there are the accusations of affairs. I know for a fact they're false._

On second thought, when he caught Ashiel, he would double back and help Qrow. It was easy fighting someone you didn't care whether they lived or died, but it's not easy fighting someone you don't want to hurt.

Fizzer had taken off. Qrow hadn't given chase.

 _To be fair, if he had, I'm pretty sure there would have been a fatality by now._

 _Finally._

Ashiel had taken a shortcut down Verde Street. Nicely out of the way.

Fluffy pounced on him from behind. While the force had knocked him down, it was the instant shatter of his aura that kept him down for a moment.

The moment was enough.

Mercury's way of shattering someone's aura was essentially overpowering it with his own and forcing it to break.

Fluffy hopped off before shifting back to Mercury. One more hit in the precise spot and Ashiel was out for the count. When he woke up, he would just assume whoever caught him had a pet.

The police station wasn't far. Mercury was going to hand deliver this one.

From their response, they were used to people dropping others off. The one who ran the fingerprints just stared at the screen before looking at Mercury.

"Guys, I've got somewhere to be. Just deal with him quick."

One of the ones in his forties just shrugged. "I expect a proper report within 3 days."

That was protocol. "I'll be back tomorrow."

As soon as the aura suppressing cuffs went on, Mercury was out the door. He took off at a run, zig zagging through the streets, lit and shady.

He arrived just in time to stop Erin from running Ancer through.

 _Hang on…His aura feels a little off…No, not his. There's another aura there that shouldn't be._

He wondered if that's what Emerald's Semblance would feel like to him on her victim.

"Done for the night Silvertongue?" Qrow sounded like he could do with a sleep. If he had been following these idiots, then he probably hadn't slept for a few days.

"I was until I came across this."

"Stay out of this Black!" Erin leapt up for a classic (and normally ineffective) stab lunge.

Mercury spun a high kick, knocking him back to the ground. "Last time you said that Erin, you were about to declare war on half of Shade." Which was actually quite impressive and Mercury would have left it be if it wasn't going to be him that had to clean up the mess.

"That's not going to help right now," Qrow muttered. He used the flat of his sword to bat Wyt to Mercury. Mercury side-stepped and focused.

He overpowered aura and _made_ it shatter.

But what happened to Cinder was different. Mercury had been inexperienced and he hadn't shattered her aura like he wanted. He had commanded it to attack itself; she had aura but couldn't use a Semblance or the shield.

Aura Wielders tended to be separated into Aura Warriors and Aura Healers. Mercury fell into the Warrior category, but he had never tried healing someone else. Methods for healing varied, but it came down to the Wielder's aura influencing the patient's.

Using that logic…

Rather than shatter the aura on touch, Mercury smacked Wyt to the ground and focused. He aimed for the 'wrong' aura and _willed_ it out; forced his aura to force it gone.

It was crude, but effective.

It also had the side effect of knocking Wyt out. His aura flared for a moment before settling.

 _Well. That wasn't planned but it worked well enough._

"You bastard!"

Naturally, one of the team going down meant the other three went after Mercury with no care to the argument they were having before.

Mercury didn't even comment. He just dodged. These guys never had been excellent in combat against others and evidently hadn't been paying attention when Mercury flattened a team in their year twice.

 _At least with Mane Graduation, the teachers know that the graduate is ready for the real world. Fourth years graduate far easier. Most likely just a few end of the year tests that were nowhere near what I did._

"Was that the plan Silvertongue?"

"Half of one. Not going to argue with the results. It is something I'm going to examine later." Down went Erin. Mercury forced that wrong aura out of him as well, with the same results.

However, after the process repeated with Ancer, he was starting to feel slightly tired.

 _Definitely need more practice with this ability. I'm not going to get that at home._

Qrow had knocked out Thorne for him. That was less hassle.

Mercury still went over to him and checked. He had that alien aura too. Taking his time, Mercury transferred a little of his aura into Thorne. The transferred aura became Thorne's, just like it always became the recipient's.

So what was Mercury sensing? The effects of Green's Semblance was his theory.

"What you doing Silvertongue?" Qrow crouched down next to him, eyes scanning Thorne for a problem.

"I could sense alien aura in them. I think it's Green's and that's how his Semblance works for an aura perspective. The others really drained me so I want to figure out why…"

There was resistance.

There had been resistance before the transfer-

Except Mercury shouldn't be _able_ to transfer to strangers. Basic aura reading yes but…

 _So what's going on? I definitely did with the other three and they definitely don't even qualify as allies for me so what gives?_

 _Why had all those sources been for the Aura Healers been so vague? Manipulating someone else's aura when there is no trust to transfer never mind control…Yet they nearly always did transfer…_

Mercury didn't have the aptitude to be a healer so he had never thought much on it. He had used the idea and some of the writings to work out how to shatter aura at a touch which was remarkably unfair to them-

 _Except that's not what happened with Cinder._

Mercury stopped and thought a bit.

Shattering auras was forcing so much of his into theirs and _willing_ theirs to shatter. It wasn't quite transfer; it was far more efficient than transfer started as and his will was stronger than theirs-

His will.

Aura was connected to the soul.

Willpower was very linked to aura.

Previous healers worked with the patient. There was a matter of trust there, if no more than the fact that it was a healer.

But most people resisted Mercury's aura. Even his friends during physical contact, though they hadn't noticed it. His family welcomed it, but there had been a few hesitations before it was accepted. It was as if it took time to accept, yet was very eager when it was trusted.

 _Maybe my aura doesn't feel 'normal'. That's why their first instinct is to resist and attack. I see everything as an attack at first and it was over before either of us noticed what happened. But I was attacking Green's influence so…_

Healers worked with the patients.

But if Mercury's aura was odd and it took more time than anyone else to be accepted as trustworthy, then maybe he had done something a little different.

Rather than work with the patient's aura, he had _overpowered_ them and _commanded_ it. Forced aura that wasn't his to do what he wanted.

That was why Cinder's aura had attacked itself and been a complete hindrance. Mercury had been inexperienced and hadn't made his wish clear. Cinder had been a Maiden; shattering her aura didn't take her out of the fight. 20 weeks later and she still hadn't reclaimed control of it.

 _Isn't that an interesting fact?_

Back to the matter at hand.

Mercury sensed Thorne's aura. Rather rare that someone would be knocked out when they still had aura, but then Qrow knew what he was doing. Mercury focused.

[Attack the intruder. Attack the intruder.]

A chant through his aura. Not his _want_ but his _need_ for this to be done.

Thorne's aura responded. It attacked Green's leftovers and, after a push, eradicated it.

Letting out a long breath, Mercury sat back.

 _Maybe if I do end up having to heal, I force my aura into them and command it like I did here._

The drain the final time hadn't been as bad as the other three. Now though, he had a theory to try next time. Maybe that was why Emerald's Semblance didn't work great on him anymore. He was certainly still affected but not the degree he was used to…

 _I wonder if Maia has ever thought about putting lasting images in someone's vision for after she left the area or stopped focusing. I'll bring it up later. Who else might have a Semblance I can try with? Ren's is a maybe. Pyrrha's is a maybe. Tyger, Thistle…Quite a few actually but not many I trust._

"What are we going to do with them?" Mercury asked. "And what were they doing down here anyway?"

If WEAT hadn't been the clients Fizzer was waiting for, which seemed unlikely and Mercury hadn't seen them on the list, then the others had been scared off for tonight.

"Dump them in a hotel for the night, paid for." Qrow was not a happy camper. "I'll be taking that out of their Green bounty mission."

"Seriously? They were the ones to take Green's bounty?" How had they known he would be here?

"Yep. I guess you know his MO?"

Mercury rolled his eyes. "These kids are idiots. I know they were taught better." Himself included in that training. Goodwitch should have pitted him against them and not their classmates.

Qrow shrugged. "Ozpin can't stop them from graduating after completing their last year even if he doesn't agree they're ready. Rather rare these days though."

True, there was no way Ironwood would have passed him if he had any other choice. Mercury could see he could do untold damage.

 _And already have unwillingly._

"You take the idiots, I'll drop Green off with Ashiel."

"Wondered where you'd got to."

May as well give those statements to the police now. What happened to Green and Ashiel next was not Mercury's problem, though there was a good bet on them being executed.

With a shrug, Mercury got to finishing his work for the night.

He should have his bounty by the end of the night.

And a good sleep should get rid of the almost sudden stinging in his eyes.

* * *

Tai headed outside. He hadn't seen Mercury that morning and the fact he just went straight to bed last night worried him a little. Qrow's explanation of him learning more about his aura capabilities (which finally threw the rule book completely out the window but then he probably had far too much to manage normally) had soothed Tai a bit.

Qrow was looking up other bounties and making sure kids hadn't bitten off more than they could chew.

Mercury was with Zwei and Talaria next to him, one on each side and out of immediate view.

 _What has he got on his head?_

Tai approached. Mercury didn't move or say anything, so he didn't object to his presence. He appeared to be meditating. Only when Tai settled opposite him did he notice.

"A blindfold?" It wasn't the first time, but the other times he had been practicing relying on scent and hearing alone. It was a common practice in Beacon in fourth year.

"It helps."

"Helps?"

"Your aura is gold."

A rather random comment. Tai thought that over. Mercury had never seen Tai's aura and Tai didn't think the girls had either. "That doesn't sound like a guess."

"Right now, I can see it."

Tai blinked.

"Then again…'See' isn't quite the right word. I sense auras. My eyes on the conduit. I 'see' you. I 'see' Zwei, though he is more difficult. Talaria…She's almost impossible. I really have to look. The landscape 'looks' dark to me. Difficult to focus on."

After a moment to ponder, Tai lifted his hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?" How much could he differentiate?

Mercury was quiet for a moment. "Three. Four if you count the thumb."

Tai wasn't so sure this was an Aura Wielder ability. The theory he had would require testing but he hoped that he was wrong. "Mercury, can I take your blindfold off for a moment?"

"Sure."

The eyes below were the normal dark grey; nothing different. Tai had expected for them to be glowing a light silver. Mercury was blinking a lot. Tai returned the cloth. "What can you feel? You 'see' my aura, but can you feel it?"

"I…Not really. It's bright but…that's it. You're interesting because everything else is so boring." He quickly replaced the blindfold. "I talked to Maia this morning. Her view is similar but different. Everything is bright and alive to her. Not to me. I just see people on a dark background."

Tai frowned. He pointed. "Take a look at the house. What do you see?"

…

"I can see the walls. I can see the Runes I put on the door." Best anti-intruder measure ever. "They're bright, but not interesting. I…can see through the walls but it hurts to do. Qrow's aura though…It's…alluring. Brighter yet darker than yours."

Alluring.

Of all the adjectives, he went with 'alluring'.

"This isn't my aura. I don't know what it is, but my aura isn't doing it."

No.

It wasn't.

"You have an affinity for Grimm Mercury. Don't deny it. It's the only thing that makes sense; why they didn't appear at places they should when you're around."

Mercury waited for the rest patiently.

"Salem or Ginger…Both of them…They hurt you. Hurt you in a way Marcus couldn't. You adapted."

Mercury tilted his head. "True."

…

Nothing more.

Worrying.

"Have you ever wondered what a Grimm sees?"

Zwei hopped into Mercury's lap. He gave the dog a casual pet as he considered.

"Honestly? No. But if I had, I would have thought they see things differently. You think that's what happening to me?"

Impossible.

RMEY took impossible as a challenge.

Talaria landed on his shoulder and chittered to him.

"Qrow is brighter to you because he is more stressed. You can make out the landscape, but only so you don't crash into it and it doesn't interest you. Talaria you can see a little because she's alive and has a soul, but it's not as…interesting to you. Animals are the same. People are brighter." Tai gave him a smile he half felt. "I think you've evolved Grimm vision."

"Your colour flickered."

Tai sighed. "Probably." He would 'see' negative emotions or at least notice them. "It's just a shock if I'm right."

"When are going to accept that I'm wrong?"

 _Not wrong as in 'I said something wrong'. Wrong as in…_

Tai blinked. He rubbed his temples. "It's not that you're wrong Eris. It's that you're different and you're different in a way no one else is." Or probably ever was. Hopefully.

"I was created to destroy."

"Yet you choose not to."

"…"

"I'm not stupid Eris. I have a rough idea what you're capable of. To us, it doesn't matter. Your aura doesn't feel any different to me." He reached forward. No response. The hand rested on the _teen's_ shoulder. "Even now, it feels the same as it did the day I met you."

Not turmoil.

Confusion, intrigue and concern.

"You bought a harmonica."

Rolled his eyes.

"Who tattled?"

"Melody." Silence. Tai gave him an easier question. "And why did you write a will?" Especially one that would be recorded in all the Kingdoms. Mercury had to be one of the most powerful people on Remnant and was more stubborn that a diamond wall.

"My mother was a prostitute and made money on kids she handed over to the fathers. I wouldn't be surprised if I had siblings somewhere. I don't want them getting my things when I want you to have it."

That was a fair point.

"Not to mention I could have kids of my own out there and I wouldn't know."

That was a point Tai wasn't going to dwell on.

"That's a very interesting harmonica. I was in the music group at Beacon in my day and that one is very different."

"Guy who sold it said something about being able to change key quickly, even midway through a song. Means nothing to me."

"What were you even doing in a music shop?" Melody had said they had been walking down the road when Mercury apparently made an impulsive decision and walked into an instrument shop. It sold nothing else.

There was a shift in his aura there.

Confusion. Anger.

"I don't know."

So Mercury walked into a music shop, bought an instrument, found a tune he liked on the way home and he had no idea why he did it?

"Really?"

Mercury scowled. "The magicals had a good word: compelled. I knew full well what I was doing and even had a good excuse: instruments make people relax around you. But the choice wasn't exactly mine. Same with the tune. I just knew how to play it."

 _First Yang. Then Emerald creates an ocarina. Ruby's looking up what she wants and is 90% sure it's a guitar. Now Mercury is compelled to buy a harmonica that is so advanced it must have cost him some money as it is essentially a lot of different harmonicas combined. What is going on here?_

Honestly, that concerned him more than the Grimm vision.

 _Speaking of which..._

"So. Can you switch it off?"

Relaxed. Back in safe territory. "I'm trying. I've had some success."

"So let's continue. I imagine reading has to be difficult in that mode."

"You've no idea." His aura settled yet was restless. "And now?"

"…Powers evolve. Semblances evolve. Ruby's petal slip now means she can travel at that speed in any direction. You know how Emerald's Semblance has improved, covering all the senses now instead of two. Yang amplifies the energy she absorbs by 4 now rather than 2. Power evolves as the person does. You learned more about your power last night, so this was triggered."

"…It's not biologically possible."

"Neither's turning into an animal Eris. Most Semblances are biologically impossible. Ruby turns into petals and can scatter them in three different directions! That's even weirder than you seeing the world differently. You always did."

Eris was Tai's kid. Son or nephew depended on who he needed at the time.

Abilities meant nothing compared with what you decided to do with them.

And no way in any hell was he letting Eris leave this house with him thinking Tai wouldn't always love him.


	27. Political and Emotional Movements

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

The second year of Beacon came to a rather anticlimactic end. That wasn't to say the peace was unappreciated. The reverse was true: everyone was very relaxed and happy.

This time, none of the second years were staying at Beacon over the holidays. Jaune was going home with Ren and Nora joining him. Weiss was going to Menagerie with Blake. Everyone else was also going home.

* * *

"Seriously? This is what you're giving me?"

"Why not? I think he suits you."

"That's an insult."

Tai came down the stairs to find the kids at the kitchen table. Their plans for the holidays consisted of the videos they wanted to put on the web. Ruby's also consisted of painting Mercury's metal arm apparently and definitely learning how to play the guitar. Mercury's job there was to see if he could make said guitar easier to travel with.

At the moment, Mercury was complaining about whatever voice acting role he had been given. Yang was looking very smug and amused. Chances were he wasn't going to win this argument.

Ruby was at his side. There was more paint on her face than on the prosthetic.

Emerald cleared her throat, actually saying the words 'hem, hem'. It made the other two glare at her but they did become quiet.

"Yang, if Mercury is the naïve idiot sidekick, who do you have in mind for the second-in-command to be first in command villain?"

Mercury rolled his eyes. "That's not what I would pick either."

Yang just smiled. "Sawyer."

Emerald pulled a face. "Seriously?"

Mercury hummed. "I would agree with that one actually."

With a smile of his own, Tai headed outside, making a mental note to tell the kids to wash the table properly twice if that was where they were going to paint.

He had planned to head into the market for some shopping.

Talaria growled, catching his attention. The dragon was balanced on a plant pot but her back was arched and she was almost hissing. She sensed danger. Tai quickly followed her gaze.

There was a red eyed bird on a nearby tree. A bird with almost shinier feathers, certainly larger bill and definitely a larger body overall.

If there was any doubt who he was looking at, Qrow was in Vale looking into rumours of Undesirables moving in there permenantly.

Raven was back.

This time, she stayed long enough for Tai to get more than a passing glance.

Tai loved her. He always had. He probably always would. She was complicated and far from perfect but she was special. Her strength; her determination; her loyalty…

 _Why is she here?_

Her choices.

 _Why is she here?_

Tai crossed his arms. "Get the hell off my property Raven."

If it was just Emerald and Mercury, he would acquiesce to a bitter and much needed reunion. For however long it would be. He would _talk_ to her.

He needed to talk to her.

But not with Ruby and Yang in the house. He was going to keep what was left of their innocence untarnished for as long as he could.

And Raven…

Raven tilted her head.

"My scroll number hasn't changed. Ask Qrow if you don't know. I know damn well you visit him. But I am not having you around my kids. Your daughter in blood only. I raised her, you didn't. Want to set up a meeting elsewhere? Fine. I'll be there. You are not welcome in my house or around _my_ kids."

He couldn't let Yang meet Raven without her learning the truth.

Raven just stared at him.

"I'm going to the market. You better be gone when I get back." He glanced at the dragon. Her hostility hadn't dropped. "Don't let her in the house."

Raven wouldn't try.

But he had made his point.

Tai headed to the market.

Raven was gone by the time he got back.

Tai needed a drink. Preferably to get too drunk to remember he saw her.

But that needed to wait after the kids had gone to bed.

* * *

While Blake was sincere in her offer, she was worried.

She was bringing the Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company to Menagerie.

"Are you okay?"

Weiss smiled. "I'm fine. I never met your parents. Do you think they will like me?"

"I'm sure they will." It was everyone else she was worried about.

Coral patted her shoulder. Blake gave her a grateful smile.

The airship was obviously from Beacon. Families eagerly waited, looking forward to their reunions. Blake could see her father near the back, allowing the shorter adults near the front. Her mother would be standing next to him. They knew her friend was staying over.

"Ready?" Dale asked Weiss, his ears twitching nervously. He was giving her a final out.

"Yes." Weiss was tense herself. Blake could see it. Dale wouldn't.

The door opened.

Blake and Weiss waited.

The five others hopped out and walked to their families. They happily accepted the affection, but none moved too far from the airship and didn't move from their positions closest to it.

Ghira couldn't see his daughter so he stepped around the crowd. He was now at the side, looking a little worried.

With a final exchanged glance with Weiss, the pair left the shadows and stepped onto the stand.

Ghira relaxed his shoulders. Still stiff, Blake let out a little relieved breath. Her mother appeared and had an almost grin on her face.

One. Two. Five.

Everyone.

The whole crowd was almost glaring at Weiss.

Sensing the sudden change, Coral let go of her brother and stepped back. She shifted into a more protective stance. Dale stepped back and stared at the crowd. Forest; Clay; Carmine. They all moved back.

Protecting Weiss.

Blake had expected the aggression.

She hadn't expected her friends' defence and she could never repay them.

 _But then, they're Weiss' friends too._

Her father stepped forward. "This is Weiss I take it? A pleasure to meet you. Blake has told us so much." He offered his hand.

Weiss accepted it gratefully. "A pleasure to meet you too sir."

Kali shook her hand. "Do you have any preference for dinner? Or any allergies?"

"Anything is fine for me. Would you like any help preparing it?"

"Oh no. I'm sure Blake's father would like…less edited stories about you and your friends' antics."

Blake's face went red. "No he doesn't." She looked at Weiss. "He doesn't need to hear anything Weiss."

Ghira patted Weiss' shoulder. "I think I do. Starting with this boyfriend of hers."

"Who, Sun?" Weiss asked too innocently, much to Blake's horror. "I do know of a few of their dates-"

"They were not dates Weiss and you know it!"

Ghira laughed. "Come along then children. We won't get home at this rate."

It was as if everyone else was frozen. The four walked off, pretending not to have a care in the world.

But once they were around the corner, Blake pulled Weiss into a hug. Shaking a little, Weiss clutched her back.

"We wouldn't have let anything happen," Kali promised.

"I know," Blake replied. But she held Weiss close.

"Something you want to say, _Mother_?" Dale sounded angry.

"Why is that _thing_ here?"

Weiss flinched at that. She sighed. Blake gently rubbed her back.

"Weiss? She's a friend. Pretty good one too if I think about it."

"But-"

"What do you care? You came to Menagerie to get away from the fighting. You chose to let others fight for you. Weiss is Blake's friend and she didn't have many places to go. You could learn a few lessons from them."

Blake hadn't known there had been any problems between Dale and his family but maybe…

"If Weiss goes," Jasper, Coral's brother who had never met Weiss, stated firmly. "So do we."

Nothing.

Kali led them back to the house.

It took a good two hours for Weiss and Blake to finally calm down.

* * *

"Yang. We need to talk."

Yang frowned and looked up from the script. "Dad? What's wrong?"

Mercury nudged her. She glared at him, but he was stubborn. [If it's about what I think it is, you need to.]

[And what do you think it is?]

"Quit stalling and go."

Mercury wasn't letting her aura read him. That was never a good thing.

Now that she thought about it, she had never seen Dad so…Well, Yang wasn't sure what honestly. That was even worse.

"Dad?"

They settled in the living room; Dad on the single armchair and Yang on the couch. Rather than relaxing, Yang was almost stiff.

Dad ran his hand down his face. "Okay Yang. I think you're old enough to know the truth about your mother."

Yang blinked.

She wasn't sure what to feel.

Rather than the joy of _finally_ getting answers, she mainly felt…dread. The excitement was hard to shake off, but it wasn't strong. "Old enough?" Until recently, Yang had assumed that Dad didn't know. Since adopting Emerald and Mercury though, she had begun to wonder different.

But if Dad did know, why had he never told her? He knew she was looking for answers.

"I don't really know why she left Yang. But you know about Salem and I think that's part of it. After you were born, Raven just vanished. I haven't spoken to her since." He hesitated, then sighed. "Raven and Qrow grew up in a bandit tribe. She returned there and is now its leader."

Bandit tribe.

Bandit. Tribe.

Her mother was the head of a bandit tribe.

Yang would never have guessed that.

"Bandit…As in…You know…" Yang couldn't ask.

Of all the things that Raven could have been off doing and she was…

"Raiding villages? Yes."

Yang winced.

"But there's something else you should know. Something…more."

Yang gave him a suspicious look. "More what? You mean there's something worse than Mom abandoning me so she can go murder strangers?"

Dad looked at her; it obviously took a lot of effort. "Raven's Semblance is…rather unique. She is able to create portals to people she's bonded with. When she made connections, she would do anything for them. Nothing got in her way. Qrow obviously, me…and you."

There it was.

The spike through the heart.

The emptiness.

 _All this time looking for my mom…And she could visit me whenever she wanted…All this time and…We never met. How easy it could have been and we never met. Did she ever care?_

"She wa-is strong, willing to do anything for what she believed in. in school, it was us. But that tribe raised her; she loves them. It was inevitable really."

…

"Yang, have you ever seen a red eyed bird outside? On days that Qrow was off on missions?"

…

"Hang on. You mean that bird…"

Yang had seen a red eyed bird. When she learned Uncle Qrow was a shapeshifter, she assumed it was him. It had never occurred to her she had seen one when Uncle Qrow was on a different continent. That she had seen a bird that couldn't be him.

It never clicked…that she was looking at her mother.

 _I remember seeing that bird before heading into Junior's before Beacon…I've seen it around Beacon! If that wasn't Uncle Qrow then...and it couldn't have been some of those times…then…_

Mom had come home. Mom had kept an eye on her.

She had made no attempt to introduce herself. All these years and Raven had visited and never once spoken to her; had never let her know she was there.

Yang wouldn't have said anything to Dad or Uncle Qrow. She would have kept it a secret.

"I should know already. You should have…" Yang blinked her red eyes back to lilac. She was annoyed at Dad but…not really angry at him. All of that searching…and that was the answer.

Yang almost wished…

"I know she drops by Qrow sometimes. He tells me about it. If you want to know more…You should ask him."

"Right."

So.

Raven was happy to watch Yang grow up and not get involved at all.

Did she want to ask Uncle Qrow about her?

Yang needed to smash something.

"I need to clear my head."

Mercury knew.

He knew what Dad wanted to talk about. He knew about her mother. From his time with Cinder or somewhere else, there was no doubt he knew.

Emerald had let it slip before that she knew _something_. Yang hadn't pressed then; had been more concerned about her odd behaviour that day.

Ruby…didn't know. Yang knew Ruby didn't know.

"Okay. A raven tends to have shinier feathers, crows caw while ravens almost croak. The tail is a like a fan with a crow and a wedge with a raven."

Yes.

Yang had seen both a raven and a crow around. Two black birds with red eyes. She had always thought it was one bird.

 _I wonder…I didn't really pay much attention to tell a raven from a crow and if Uncle Qrow was around when he said he wasn't…_

Yang stood up and walked outside. She didn't look at Dad.

Mercury was leaning against a tree, arms folded.

Yang charged at him.

Only to find herself rolling as he kick-spun her to the side.

"Artemis, I thought that was the _first_ thing we dealt with." Mercury split Pandora in two and generated two katana like swords. Oddly enough, the one in his left hand was held in a loose backhand. The right was held in front; the left blade was behind him. "Come on. Put some effort into it."

Yang knew from experience that she had no chance of hitting him in this state, never mind actually beating him.

But that wasn't her goal.

Her goal was to just forget everything until she was too drained to feel it properly.

That worked.

Until her aura shattered anyway.

She pushed herself up without a care and readied herself again.

Mercury disengaged and folded his arms. "No way am I getting drawn into that."

"What? I've got some fight still in me."

"Not enough." Mercury headed towards the shed. Worried about her bike, Yang followed. "Can I take it for a spin yet?"

"No." She wasn't in the mood to stop him if he tried though.

"Spoilsport."

He didn't try.

Her bike still had the cover over it. Yang pulled it off and started the familiar routine of checking it for damages. Her fingers moved automatically.

"Bird Raven paid a visit today. Tai wasn't impressed."

So Mercury was going there. That was why Dad talked to her today. "How long have you known?"

"Right from the beginning. Tai told me to make a point."

Dad told Mercury and not her.

"And you never told me?" The exercise had worked; she couldn't find the energy to be angry over that.

He shrugged. "Wasn't my place to. If Qrow or Tai hadn't told you, they probably had a good reason. Maybe they weren't willing to have the conversation of 'remember when you took Ruby for a forest and was nearly killed? You were doing that to find a bandit that has been popping by every now and then. Fancy talking to a bird?'"

If it wasn't going to damage the shed, Yang would have blasted him. "You knew about the bird thing?"

"Nope," was a reply that sounded way too cheerful.

Yang rolled her eyes. "You're horrible."

"I can go fetch Maia if you want this talk with her."

"Not really. I prefer you."

"Worrying. Why?"

"I don't want to bring up her parents with her. And Ruby's…Ruby."

Mercury shrugged. "Fair enough. I always thought you thought of Summer as your mother anyway, even if she biologically wasn't."

"She was." Summer had raised her; as her own as Yang had no idea when she was younger than she wasn't her biological mother.

"Never got that, you know. You had a mother and you loved her. Why did you go looking for someone who obviously wasn't willing to put up with you? Did you think everything would be perfect from the get go?"

If it was anyone else, it would be out of mockery and Yang would get angry.

Mercury was just genuinely curious and that was even more annoying.

Yang groaned, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. "Perfect? No. Honestly…I never really thought that far ahead. But probably an argument." Yang's head hit the wall. "It wasn't really finding my mother. It was finding the reason she left."

Mercury sat down next to her. "And now you know it?"

"Dad didn't know it."

"So what do you think?"

"I think…" What did she think? "I…don't know. Have you seen a raven around?"

"Yeah, a few times. I knew there were two red eyed birds from the beginning. I thought it odd they were different species but didn't think much on it. They're closely related; probably a genetic quirk they shared. Until I learned Qrow was more literal these days."

Uncle Qrow.

"Uncle Qrow had been a bandit too."

"He grew up there as well Yang. They named him. They raised a kid they knew brought bad luck. He saw them as family before he went to Beacon. Then he changed his mind. I can see why Raven was angry at him."

"But Raven lived in this house too. At least for a while. That photo was taken out there."

Zwei pushed the door open. He trotted over to Yang. He lay down next to her. Yang petted him absentmindedly.

"Your point?"

Yang let out an exasperated breath. "It means she didn't plan to go back."

"So?"

"…You're not helping."

"Why did you think I would?"

Yang gave him a shove. He didn't even move. She couldn't stop a smile though.

"…What do you know about Raven? From…any source."

Mercury was quiet for a moment.

"I don't want doctored words, Eris."

He was still quiet for another moment.

"Her motto: 'The weak die; the strong live. Those are the rules.' Tai and Felix agree that was her creed from when she was young and still is. You can guess where this is going."

Yang could guess.

She just didn't want to be the one to voice it.

"The day I spoke to Ozpin about everything, I came home to find Raven in our living room." Yang stilled. "From his body language, Felix didn't want her there. She didn't take kindly to me calling her Salem's subordinate and her fear of Salem was matched only for her hatred for Ozpin. Bit of a hypocrite as she had no problem using his gifts. Maia…The Spring Maiden Lionheart knew about ran away and went to live with Raven's tribe for over a decade. According to Maia, Krystal saw her as a mother. She is capable of love."

Yang said nothing.

Yang felt nothing.

"I think she cares about her tribe." He thought a bit. "In my personal opinion, I think she feels more possessive about STRQ and you rather than love or affection. It's more that she _owns_ you rather than cares for you. But you would have to talk to Tai or Felix. I don't really know her."

Mercury didn't get people he knew for months. He knew nothing here.

But Raven was happy to be around and never interact with Tai or Yang. She had no interest in them.

"The way I read it, she only shows up to see Felix when she wants something. Never for a 'hello'. If she takes the time to come here from her tribe though, maybe that means something."

Yang frowned.

Mercury didn't know Raven's Semblance. It was far less effort for her than he thought.

Yang wasn't going to tell him that.

"End of the day, I think she left you behind because she had no use for a baby. If you did find her, you were worth knowing. If not…It's not like there's a connection there. She did know that Tai would never mistreat you, even if he hated her. Maybe she thought you didn't need her like she didn't need you."

No.

It didn't seem like Raven cared about Yang.

"She's my mother."

"So what? It means nothing."

"What about your mother?" She regretted that the second she said it.

"The prostitute I met on my thirteenth birthday and a few times over the next two years? Take a wild guess at our relationship Artemis. I hated her visits and she is the only person I've ever killed in a blitz attack."

Okay. Yang wasn't going there.

On topic, at least he had a reason for thinking that. He never had a proper mother, biological or not.

But Raven wasn't like that.

But Summer…

"I've never met her." She must care. Why would she keep returning if she didn't?

"Probably for the best. Isn't Tai and Felix enough? Wasn't Summer enough?"

Mercury didn't get it.

He never would.

"It's not about being enough."

"Even if you were only looking for her for answers rather than her for a mother?"

"…Maybe."

"So are you still going to go looking for her?"

Yang let out a breath. She closed her eyes. "No."

No.

She wouldn't.

Yang had her answers.

Dad, Uncle Qrow, Athena, Maia, Eris, Zwei, Talaria…They were her family.

Raven was someone she happened to be related to.

"If you had a kid out there, would you want it?"

"No."

Yang gave him a look. "You didn't even think."

Mercury gave her a raised eyebrow. "Would you trust me with a kid?"

"Yes." Yang thought about it and added with his incredulous look, "mostly. Besides, all of us would help raise it."

"You guys would be doing most of the work."

"Yeah, like we'd let you do that."

 _It would have been nice knowing you Raven, but I have a family that I'm not willing to leave. If you're not willing to actually meet me, then we'll go our separate ways forever._

 _It wasn't nice not knowing you Mom._

 _I can't say it's much better knowing._

Yang closed her eyes. She didn't want to talk about Raven anymore.

She scratched Zwei under the chin.

 _Well…we are near the topic and I know I had to talk to him about it eventually…but how to do it?_

 _…_

 _It's Eris. Be blunt._

"Why did you want to date your Gems?" Because that seemed very odd in hindsight, knowing what she knew now.

"Of all the topics to avoid the mother subject, you went with that?"

She looked at him. He was frowning at her in confusion. "It was something I was going to bring up at some point before we…" _Went our separate ways for a while._ "I had this talk with Ruby and Emerald before you started. I never did with you, though you are probably the one I should have spoken to the most."

Ruby had never dated before. Emerald and Mercury had never known love at all, family or otherwise. Maybe a taste of it for Emerald. Emotionally, they were both very stunted, even compared to the sheltered Ruby.

Yang had never given it _too_ much thought at the time, but she had thought it wouldn't last forever. She had expected it to last until the end of Beacon, but then she hadn't expected the Vytal Festival would end that way.

Or the magical world but that was another topic altogether.

Mercury laughed. It was a bitter sound. It faded until chuckles, but he said nothing.

Yang took a deep breath. "Fine. 'Want' is the wrong word, but you know what I mean. You had more choice there than anything else."

"True." He folded his hands behind his head, stretching out. "Not going to deny I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought."

Right now, Yang was Eris' sister, not Athena's or Maia's. It was quite easy.

She stayed quiet. She could sense he wasn't done.

"I guess I wanted to know what all the hype was about and with them…What was really so different?"

Yang thought about that.

He may have had a point. All the 'relationship upgrade' had done was give Ruby and Emerald more confidence to be affectionate. They had never been over the top; in fact, quite tame. Yang was probably as affectionate with Emerald as Ruby, when she was around. Hell, Yang was probably more affectionate with the girls than Mercury had been.

It had just been…different. They viewed each other differently.

"Ruby said you wanted to wait until she was of age."

"For Ruby and Emerald, statutory rape. In reality, I have no interest in sex."

It was weird how easily he could say that.

And that was precisely the point.

"So what did you want?" He had answered, but Yang still didn't understand.

"To learn."

Yang almost laughed. She kept relaxed and unfazed. "About?"

Mercury shrugged. "That changed." Of course it did. "At first, it was empathy and to me at the time, that was a necessary life skill." No comment. "I mainly used Ruby as an example. That changed to just life in general from the 'normal' side." Air quotes included, amusingly. "Though I knew nothing about the normal father dislike issue until Felix told me."

Yang did laugh there.

"Did Tai ever have a problem with it?"

She thought back. "I think at first he was too worried about Emerald. Then he saw that it wasn't a casual and ill-thought out fling. Sometimes, it was actually easy to forget."

Mercury snorted.

"Well, how long did you think it would last?"

"Nowhere near as long as it did. I expected them to step back long before the Vytal Festival. But if I was going to pick an event…I would say Ruby when I killed Umbridge and Emerald…okay, maybe when we did step back with Emerald."

Yang considered, but decided to tell him. "They were going to talk to you after the Tournament. Not quite an 'I told you so' when nothing happened but they wanted to talk it out."

"Like I said, I hadn't been caring towards them at the time, not the way they wanted…I won't deny a bit of me was relieved. It wasn't that I cared for them less; I just couldn't see how to go forward. The natural relationships end in a kid and settled down."

It took a moment for Yang to realise Mercury meant 'natural' as in 'biological'. She re-thought what to say.

"So if you had a choice, when would you have ended it?"

Mercury hummed. "Interesting question. I hadn't given it much thought. For some reason, I kept thinking my time was short; months rather than years."

"So?"

"Admittedly, the only scenario that really entered my mind was the two falling in love with someone."

Yang waited.

But he didn't say 'someone else'.

 _Maybe but as long as the three were together, they wouldn't go for anyone else. Maybe it had been for the best it ended when it did._

"How was your chat with Scarlet last night?"

 _Oh, don't you dare._

Yang was smiling though. "We decided to be friends. Plenty in common but I'm not interested in a relationship right now and we didn't click enough for it really to go further out of curiosity."

"…Not looking for a relationship, huh?"

"No. I'm needed here."

Mercury tilted his head to catch her eye. Yang met him unflinchingly.

…

"You do realise that I'm _definitely_ older than you now, right?"

Yang grinned at him. "Four months after me. You're still my little brother."

Mercury let out a little chuckle there. "Anything else?"

She leaned back, completely at ease. "And now?"

"The family. That's all. Different relationship with each one, but all equal. The Gems just have a…quirk the others don't."

"Sounds about right."

Dad, Uncle Qrow, the four siblings and their animal companions.

"They won't hear of this." A statement from Mercury.

"Not a word." Yang closed her eyes. "We fight, not talk about love lives in anything other than a playful tease."

"Sounds about right."

They stayed there for another hour.

Finally, Yang sent Mercury off to Uncle Qrow when the man called for him and decided to take a ride on her bike. It had been too long since she had flown.

Thoughts of Raven had been banished from her mind.

Yang did have a purpose in life but one more worthy fighting for.

* * *

Midnight had been and gone. Blake still couldn't sleep.

She got up and went to the living room. That was the room with the light still on.

"Hi Dad." Blake went to curl up next to him on the couch. Dad patted her head and put her arm around her.

"Worried about your friend?"

"A little." Blake knew she was risking Weiss, but she couldn't go home and didn't have many other options. "Not about today but over the next few weeks…"

"She'll be fine. We know our neighbours Blake. Pearl has even invited Weiss to her family barbecue tomorrow."

Pearl. She wasn't related to anyone in Beacon. Her kids had been born and raised in Menagerie.

"Are we expected to bring anything?"

Dad chuckled. "No, but I think I will bring her some wine. She did say dress casually."

Blake thought about it. "Okay. Casual or smart-casual?"

"Casual."

There was a knock on the door from the hallway leading to the bedroom.

Confused only for a moment, Blake called out. "Come in Weiss."

Weiss appeared, looking very guilty. "I'm sorry for interrupting Blake, but your scroll rang and I answered it when I saw it was Mercury. He wants to talk to you."

Thinking back, Blake realised she had accidentally left her scroll in the guest room. She took the scroll and pressed a button. "It's me, Ares. You're on speaker."

"At this time of night?" He sounded wide awake.

"Weiss said it's urgent?" Blake ignored him.

"Urgent is probably the wrong word. Adam's on the move. New intel puts him north of Mistral City; somewhere where there is excellent scroll signal. Do you have a photo of these twins?"

Dad gave Blake an unimpressed look. Blake blushed, but kept the stare. Her father began looking through his scroll photos.

"I'll check," Blake said aloud. "But why do you need it now?"

"Because I'm about three hours away. Just to be safe."

"I thought you were coming at the end of the holidays."

"That was before Adam was going to be contacted earlier and before there was any reason to think Weiss would be there."

Blake and Weiss exchanged a look.

Then the reality of the situation totally hit Blake.

Weiss wasn't surprised. Had she considered it? She did swallow slightly though. "Do you honestly think something will happen, Ares?"

"It's possible. Blake's friend Weiss being accepted in Menagerie sends one message. The Schnee Heiress getting assassinated in Menagerie sends another. If the White Fang were willing to lead Grimm into the heart of Vale, some might think it was a good idea."

It was a horrible idea.

But, scarily, Blake could see where Mercury was coming from.

"Mr…Black is it?"

"Crawford now," Blake murmured.

"I'll answer to either," Mercury replied. "Mr Belladonna, is it?"

"It is. Blake has told me of you, but I want to know what your intentions are." Dad was firm and a little too aggressive for Blake's liking. "I do not wish for trouble, especially if you could get hurt."

Before she could defend her friend, Mercury spoke up.

"Scouting only. The twins won't see me; that's a promise. I don't want to cause trouble, especially in Menagerie. I'll be here and gone before nightfall."

"Could you make a barbecue tomorrow afternoon?" Blake asked. It would make both her and Weiss more comfortable. It would probably make everyone feel more comfortable.

Dad nodded with approval.

Mercury didn't immediately answer.

"It's not an official political gathering, but it will be important for years to come. If you're a known face before…Well, you know what I mean."

Mercury was a Faunus, but no one would know that looking at him. People would suspect he might be human but most people in Menagerie would just assume he was Faunus because until Weiss, there hadn't been a human there before. Besides, not everyone's features were visible.

"Blake, you need to work on your manipulation." He sounded amused. "But seeing as I haven't got anything better to do, sure. What time and where?"

"There's a market not far from the port. I'll pick you up there."

"See you then." Mercury switched it off.

"I think it's time for you two to return to bed," Dad suggested.

It was. They all had a big day tomorrow.

But while Blake returned to her room, she went out on the balcony and shut the door behind her. The night was quiet, but a faint breeze blew through the trees.

"I know you're out there Ilia."

The thud followed immediately. "What are you doing, Blake?!"

Blake didn't turn around. Ilia wouldn't attack, no matter how angry she was. "Weiss is a friend that needed somewhere to stay. Everyone else was unsuitable for whatever reason." A bit of a lie as Weiss could have gone to RMEY's but that wasn't important now. "Why shouldn't I invite my friends over?"

"Friend? She is no friend."

"You've never met her."

"I don't need to. She's a Schnee. _The_ Schnee Heiress. You were on a few of those raids too."

"I was and I wonder how many of those were just 9 to 5 workers and had no grudge against Faunus. Not very many I know, but some." Blake sighed. "Besides, with Weiss' brother dead and her sister already disinherited, she is the only one left that can be the Heiress. She can change the company and their attitudes from the inside."

"So she's not your friend."

"She is, otherwise I wouldn't have invited her."

"Does she know you used her?"

"We did discuss the message her being in Menagerie would send. But people came here to get away from the war. Weiss isn't going to cause trouble and is only staying over at a friend's. Nothing more."

"Some disagree."

"I know." Some would see this as arrogance and an insult. "If it was any other human than Weiss, they wouldn't really care."

"Just goes to show you don't care about us. You could have brought any of your…friends…but you chose her."

"She was the one that needed a place to stay." Blake finally turned to look at Ilia. She couldn't see her. "Ilia, I know you will get orders from Adam soon. But you need to decide what is best for the Faunus, not for your parent's revenge."

There was a movement across the night. Ilia had left.

Dad had asked if Blake would feel better with a guard or two around the house when Weiss was here. Blake had said no. Dad had nodded and said it would be less stressful on everyone that way.

The main reason had been because Blake still wanted to talk to Ilia and she wouldn't come if there was a guard present too.

Adam was lost to spite and hatred.

Blake didn't want to lose Ilia too.

* * *

Qrow normally didn't mind spending time as a crow. However, being in an airship for sixteen hours straight was definitely taxing him.

No way was he going to tell Silvertongue that though.

Qrow wasn't stupid. He knew that Ghira Belladonna had been the leader of the White Fang before Sierra Khan and now Adam. Therefore, it was highly likely Blake Belladonna was his daughter. This was confirmed when he met Ghira at Beacon during the Vytal Festival. As such, he did pass on information on the White Fang to Mercury so he could pass it on to Blake and therefore her father.

He was fine with Mercury taking a trip to Menagerie to meet a friend.

He was not fine with Mercury taking a trip to Menagerie so he could spy on Adam's direct underlings.

That argument would have been a lot longer if it wasn't for the fact they didn't have much time to argue. Qrow had won when he pointed out that it was his contacts, not Mercury's, who would provide for the airship. In such a short time, Mercury couldn't find an airship and he would have really struggled to pay for it.

Needless to say, Mercury hadn't been happy.

For about five minutes until they worked out the best way for Qrow to communicate if they were both in animal forms. Then he was perfectly fine with it.

 _Why does he even_ have _an ant aura animal? I would have thought a cockroach would be more accurate if he needed an insect. Though I suppose an ant is better in this situation._

Leaf-cutter ants had been at the zoo Qrow had once taken them to on Earth. While that species of ant also lived here, that would have been where Mercury got his information from.

 _Well, at least we were successful in teaching him teamwork. Pretty sure this is a worker and not a queen._

It wasn't just Mercury he had been worried about though when he heard news on the White Fang.

 _What the hell had they been thinking when they invited the Schnee Heiress over to Menagerie? Friendship aside, that was just begging for trouble._

It was either the best political move in history or the easiest assassination attempt ever.

Personally, Qrow thought it was better for Faunus rights if nothing happened to Weiss. He also knew that many people were not long sighted and wanted short term revenge. Fair enough to them, but it wouldn't change anything. In fact, it would make things a lot worse.

After what felt like forever, the airship touched down.

Mercury got up and stretched. "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem," the pilot replied. "I'll be in there. Let me know when you're ready to go."

The port for boats wasn't far from the port for airships. Qrow also say a hotel nearby, so he wasn't worried about the pilot (something Quartz). At a ridiculous time in the morning, there was no one around.

A crow's eyes weren't really designed for night. Seeing as human Qrow vision wasn't really much better, he didn't see any point in shifting. He spread his wings and landed in the notice-me-not Rune equipped hood Mercury had stitched onto his jacket.

 _Can see Talaria making use of this._

Mercury checked his scroll and took off at a run. At the first building, he took a left. He went down the trail and then headed onto the unused dirt path. Soon, it was just dirt.

[There's not much here,] Mercury noted. [I knew this island was barren and that's part of the reason it was 'given' to the Faunus but still.]

Menagerie was one of the few places Qrow had never been. [On one hand, they get a territory all to themselves. On the other hand…]

[Emotions fester. Bringing Weiss here was either the best idea ever or it will blow up spectacularly.]

[It's surprising how often those sentiments coincide.]

Mercury suddenly slowed to a halt. He wasn't panting, so he wasn't tired. His eyes scanned the area around him. He stopped when facing west.

"Why are you following me?"

Nothing.

Mercury drew Pandora and fired a red Dust round.

Qrow definitely heard something hit the sand.

"How did you know I was there?" A girl; not a voice Qrow recognised.

"My secret," Mercury responded casually. He clipped Pandora back on his belt. "A bit of advice, make your footfalls at the same time as your target. I'm pretty sure we've never met, so why are you following me?"

"There's nothing out here. I wanted to know where you were going."

"You're wearing a White Fang mask. A personal White Fang mask. You're going to have to do better than that. Who are you loyal to?"

In all of Qrow's experience with the White Fang, they didn't stop to chat. This one also sounded quite young. Qrow nudged Mercury with his beak, but he ignored him.

There wasn't an immediate answer.

"I am loyal to the Faunus."

"Really." Mercury shifted his weight a little there.

[Someone loyal to Ghira has no reason to be out here,] Qrow pointed out.

Mercury's aura responded that he knew.

"Do you realise that Adam's way is just going to start another war between Faunus and humans? Is that what you really want? Revenge for the dead Faunus rather than a hopeful future for those not born?"

While he hid it spectacularly, there was no emotion to back up what he was saying. Mercury didn't really seem to care either way.

What he did want was for this girl to be gone and stop following him.

"What would a human know?"

To Qrow's surprise, Mercury lifted a hand and moved his hair, exposing what was left of the coyote ears.

"If you follow Adam, a lot of Faunus are going to end up like me."

[You're being rather friendly.]

[Qrow, she's a chameleon. That is remarkably useful. Other than her amateur mistake, that aura vision was the only way I saw her.]

Chameleon. Qrow didn't even know that was a Faunus. Out of curiosity… [What did her aura look like?]

[Very bright.]

Meaning she was either feeling a lot of negative emotions or was very conflicted. Poor girl.

[Then be a little more gentle.]

"You're Blake's friend." That was a whisper. Mercury didn't say anything. "Corsac and Fennec live in a small cottage another three miles east. Did Blake put you up to this?"

"The other way around. I told Blake only after it was too late to talk me out of it."

That wasn't entirely accurate. Qrow knew Mercury and Blake had spoken about his trip to Menagerie, but they had planned for him to go at the end of the holidays. It had been Mercury that changed the plan though.

After a moment, Mercury spoke again. "Do you want anyone to know we spoke? Blake?"

"…No. Don't tell Blake."

"Sure."

There was nothing for a few minutes.

[She's gone back to the market.] Mercury took off at a run again.

[Do you know who she was?]

[I'm guessing she's one of Blake's friends from the White Fang. They must have been close.]

[A lot of people have been leaving the Fang recently, especially the younger ones.]

[Why the younger ones?]

Qrow would have shrugged if he could. [If you're in the fight for long enough, you get more extreme. The kids are kind of new to this whole 'kill all humans' thing. A lot of them haven't experienced the same sort of bigotry that was rife ten years ago. Throw in the Schnee Heiress cheering for the daughter of the ex-White Fang leader at the Vytal Festival…]

That was the main whisper Qrow had heard in the groups he had spied on. These hadn't been in the camps and, given the training that was going on there, Qrow hadn't risked going closer. He wasn't sure what was discussed there.

[Okay, time to get off Qrow. I'm shifting.]

Qrow spread his wings. [Slow down Silvertongue.] There was a trick to getting out of the hood when the person was running, but Qrow couldn't be bothered with it now. It had taken a lot of trial and error with Summer to figure it out.

[Do you get old in bird form too?] Mercury chuckled, but he did slow.

[Not funny.] Then Qrow realised that was a genuine question. [And no.]

The shadows moved and a black fox was practically invisible in the dark.

To Qrow anyway. Any Faunus would have little trouble seeing him. This was a quite the factor considering they were in Menagerie.

The ant aura animal crawled up his talon. Qrow did not like the feel of it, but it didn't weigh anything and it was a way to talk to him so he would put up with it.

Fun fact: crows could fly as fast as a fox could run at full sprint.

Fluffy (hilarious) could probably run a little faster if Mercury channelled his aura to his legs. However, there was no point in leaving his lookout behind.

There was no wind. Three miles of constant flying, especially at full speed, was straining but Qrow ignored it. They were on a timetable they weren't sure of. If they slowed, they could miss their window.

Qrow's eyes caught something. [Veer right a little. They'll see you in the light from the kitchen.]

Dutifully, the fox drifted right.

Qrow had a bit of a problem. There were no trees or flat platforms for him to land on. There were rocks for him to hide underneath, but then his vision would be limited. That window was open though so if he could get close enough…

Mercury headed towards the wall.

[Both of them are in the kitchen,] Qrow told him as he carefully landed. He hated sand.

[I can only smell two scents inside. The only other scent is the girl we met earlier and she definitely hasn't returned. That scent is old. A few days at least.]

Zwei had been teaching Mercury a lot about scents. Qrow would trust that.

[Get a move on.]

Mercury went around the house. Qrow had no doubt he was phasing inside.

The twins were moving around the kitchen, discussing groceries.

[I think I've found the room.]

[They're moving. Hurry up.] The two disappeared into the house. Qrow waited. [Mercury?]

[I'm out. I'm outside the living room.]

Qrow let out a relieved breath. He remained motionless in his hiding place. From the look of it, they had arrived before the call from Adam, but how much before was uncertain. They could be waiting a while. Qrow had given Mercury his scroll also; placing a bug was useless if the bug was in the wrong place.

Now they waited.

…

Three hours later, just as dawn was breaking, the two owners finally left the cottage.

[Silvertongue, do you see any car?]

[No. Guess they walk.]

That was something to keep in mind. [Wait.]

Mercury waited.

Qrow waited until his crow eyes could no longer see them. It was a completely flat landscape with nothing around; it took a while. [Okay. Grab the scrolls and let's get out of here.]

Phasing was such a useful and unfair Semblance.

Mercury phased out of the building and shifted back to human.

Qrow stepped out from underneath his rock. Nice that it was literal this time rather than after a long night. [You do realise there is no way you're not getting spotted, right?]

[Yeah, but I'd rather be spotted in this shape and not a fox. There won't be many opportunities to shift when we get back to the inhabited parts. I haven't seen much wildlife and definitely nothing as big as a fox.]

That wasn't something Qrow had really noticed, but now he did. An island wasn't very exactly a good place to say 'it wandered in'. He still thought Mercury was being a bit paranoid, but there was no harm.

Qrow flew back into Mercury's hood again. He would shift later.

Again, Mercury took off at a run. He didn't stop; didn't tire. Qrow made sure to keep checking him. So many hours and not even a change in pace.

Qrow decided not to comment.

The sounds changed. Mercury was on rubble, not sand. He must be back on the path near town. However, there had been no sign of the twins whose home Mercury had trespassed into. Where had they gone?

[Okay Silvertongue. I need to shift back.]

Qrow got the impression Mercury had rolled his eyes.

He did stop though. He looked around. "No one around."

"I've been doing this a while." Qrow rolled his shoulders. He was very stiff. "I know the places. I'll run you through them another time."

"Right."

"So do you know where your friend lives?" Qrow had spoken with Ghira at the Festival and knew where he was going.

"No. I was going to ask. Everyone around here would know."

"Sound idea, but let's skip it this time. We're looking for a bigger house near the middle."

Mercury tilted his head with a smile. "Bigger house, huh?" He found something amusing.

When they got back to town, Qrow saw what. 'Bigger' was quite the understatement. "That makes things easy."

"Mercury?"

Qrow blinked and turned around.

The kid was young. A bit too young for Beacon actually. He shifted his weight from foot to foot; very uneasy. He was focused on Mercury, but wasn't meeting his eyes.

"That's my name kid, but I've never seen you before." Seemed Mercury needed _another_ talk to on being polite. Not that he would listen. To be fair, could be worse. At least he was civil.

"Akorn…My brother goes to Beacon? I mean-"

"Dale?"

Akorn's shoulders relaxed. "Yeah. That's him." He swallowed. "Umm…Blake told me to tell you to meet her at Pearl's house."

"Okay." Mercury looked back over his shoulder. "So which house is that?"

The boy pointed. "That one."

"Thanks. You coming too?"

Interesting how the phrase 'deer caught in the headlights' applied to a bear Faunus. "Umm…I-I'll be there later."

"See you then."

The boy ran off.

Mercury glanced at Qrow. "Any idea why he was so nervous?"

"Two more humans in the middle of Menagerie; he's picking up on the tension of the Schnee Heiress; he thinks you're the devil incarnate…" Qrow shrugged. "Could be anything."

Mercury began walking. "Is it a bad idea to ask him later?"

"I'd recommend asking him with the brother around. You know him?"

"I've bumped into him at Beacon. I think I've said nine words to him and those were instructions on how we were dividing teams that day."

"Second year?"

"First year going into second year."

So it probably wasn't Mercury himself that made the kid nervous. He hadn't even glanced at Qrow, so it wasn't him either. Could be anything.

But for some reason, Qrow had that nagging feeling that told him something was amiss.

Making sure to keep that in the back of his mind, Qrow followed Mercury to the directed house. The teen had coincidentally met up with one he knew from Beacon on the way (another first year called Coral) and the pair chatted about the attractions in Vale.

 _Good to see they found common ground fast._

To add to the amiss feeling, Qrow now sensed he was being followed from someone he couldn't consciously sense.

He stretched and casually looked around.

Nothing.

 _Might just be a flicker of light, but that shadow isn't right less than a second ago._

The front door of the house was already open. A group of kids were playing football out front with a couple of parents nearby.

Coral went to the Faunus that was almost certainly Dale.

Mercury hung back to Qrow. [That chameleon Faunus is back again.] He then walked around the 'pitch' and into the house, probably looking for the people he actually came to see.

 _That girl huh. If the conversation earlier was anything to go by, I don't think she'll cause trouble yet. She's probably just curious about something. Probably the Schnee Heiress._

That might explain why there were gatherings both out front and out the back.

Ghira came out not long after Mercury came in. He exchanged greetings with everyone as he made his way over to Qrow. There were a few scowls, but everyone was civil at least. This was a man they all respected.

"Qrow." They shook hands firmly. "Good to see you again and welcome to Menagerie."

"Likewise and thanks. How's the wife and daughter?"

"They are both very well. And your children?"

"Physically fine and finding great enjoyment in giving me headaches."

Someone came out to the front. "Food is ready!" Then she disappeared back into the house.

There was a rush of kids after her.

Ghira chuckled. "Some things never change. I have asked for their study for a while, so I'm afraid I must leave you."

Qrow sent the recordings to Ghira's scroll. He would listen to them later, himself. "I'll keep an eye on the kids." His scroll went off. He checked the name. "After this call."

It had been some time since Ironwood called him and he didn't unless it was something very important.

Qrow answered. "One minute Jimmy." He headed through the house to check on the kids. Mercury, Blake, Weiss, Coral, Akorn and who must be his older brother and a few others weren't even in line for food. They were laughing over something…sounded like the dancing machine in the arcade. He headed back to the front and off to the side. "Okay Jimmy."

"Does Crawford have a connection with Grimm?"

For a moment, Qrow's mind went blank. "Where did you hear that?"

"You knew about this." Ironwood's tone was blank. "And you did not mention it."

"Did you expect me to?" Qrow took a deep breath. "And I wouldn't call it a 'connection'. 'Affinity' would be better. He's not their master."

Ironwood was silent.

"Where did you hear that?" Qrow was damn sure no one in the know would have mentioned that to Ironwood.

"Where are you at the moment?"

That was a fair point. That chameleon Faunus could still be around. Qrow jumped onto the roof of the house, noting it hadn't rained for a long while and there was a layer of dust or dirt around him.

 _Perfect._

"Safe enough. No one will hear your end at least."

"…Very well. We captured an Undesirable in Atlas and he had some interesting paperwork on him. It was a portfolio of Mercury Black/Crawford. From what we can tell, he has quite the large bounty on him. Fourteen figures for alive and, even more interestingly, nothing for dead."

 _Fourteen?!_

 _Fucking hell…_

No job earned fourteen figures. No job earned higher than nine, at the highest and that included assassinations and bounties.

Marcus Black had probably never earned that much in his entire lifetime.

"I've still got my contacts. There is no bounty." Qrow had been doing underground work not too long ago. He should _know_ if there was a bounty on Mercury, especially one that ridiculously high.

"Mine says the same. Personally, I believe that Salem herself put it out and only a select few know about it. This particular Undesirable was in her inner circle twelve years ago." _Either Shallow or Byrding._ "The information he had wasn't released to the public or even in most records _we_ recovered. That does leave the question as to _why_. No more games Qrow. _Why_ is there such a large bounty on him?"

Qrow couldn't tell whether Ironwood was angry or scared.

 _Probably both._

"I'm not joking. I genuinely don't know. I agree, it cannot be for the same reasons as why he was taken in the first place."

They initially took him for his aura. They got quite a few bonuses but that had been the main reason.

Fourteen figures…

This _must_ be something else.

 _Salem herself…_

It was a guess, but he could see why Ironwood would think that.

Which might be why he thought Mercury's affinity for Grimm was the connection.

"We need to talk. Not over the scroll."

He and Mercury needed another chat too. There must be something. Maybe Mercury thought it was irrelevant or maybe he wasn't conscious for a lot of it but…

Fourteen figures.

 _For it not to be underground, it must be serious. It was entrusted to people who would not blab and would not hire someone else to do the job for them then stiff them._

"Agreed. I have the information to show you, but the man had a poison pill in his back molar. He's dead."

 _So no information there._

"Day after tomorrow," Qrow ordered. "Where?"

"Atlas. I'm in meetings most of the day, but I'm dining alone. Nine o'clock. I'll be in the Headmaster's Office."

"I'll be there."

The line went dead.

Qrow did not rejoin the party. He stayed on the roof, in human form, and just watched.

 _Most of the cannon fodder and hire contacts have been dealt with. The problem now is that most of the Undesirables left free are the ones that were the closest connected to Salem. They're crazy and sadistic, but that doesn't govern everything they do._

 _But where does Mercury fit into this?_

The changeling had taken a very big risk and had gotten caught quite easily. That had been thought of on the fly and if he had been part of a greater plot, he wouldn't have acted so rashly.

What then was the reason?

Surely Salem would have had that bounty out as soon as she learned Mercury was still alive, which would have been almost immediately. Cinder had gone to LiaGuard to kill him.

 _So…What changed?_

Or had Cinder been there for a different reason?

She had headed straight for the-

 _What if her intention hadn't been to kill Mercury, but to move him somewhere else?_

They had all come to the conclusion that she had been there to kill, but…

 _But…_

There was no actual confirmation of that. It was an assumption.

Cinder had tried to kill Emerald when she realised she had the rest of the Spring Maiden's power, but she must have been searching for that for near two years.

 _And yet…_

Qrow thought back.

He had not been there when the fight had initially started. He joined in later with Tai after Ruby took Mercury lower down. Cinder and the other woman that was still unidentified were engaged in a fight with Emerald and Yang.

They were already in a fight with two kids but Cinder had not tried to finish it quick. She had been drawing it out; not using Maiden power or even most of her experience…

 _She wanted them to survive. They weren't her target, but they likely knew where he was. She wanted to interrogate them. On top of that, Cinder's aura was playing up: she had no shield or Semblance. Getting into a fight was stupid so…That likely wasn't the initial plan._

So Cinder had been there for Mercury. As they had thought.

But was it to kill or recapture?

The kids didn't seem the slightest bit bothered by the Schnee Heiress. The girl was actually quite good with them; paying each a good amount of attention, genuinely interested in their interests and no snotty behaviour anywhere.

It was the adults that obviously didn't like her. They weren't even trying to hide it.

Kali Belladonna was out and was making a good effort in keeping the peace. Ghira came out after an hour and the atmosphere relaxed a little.

A little.

The others went to get in line for something to eat.

Akorn had approached Mercury again and the two had another chat. This time, the boy was a lot calmer; almost excited. Mercury himself didn't seem bothered by the interaction. In fact, Dale left his brother with him to snag some food.

 _Fourteen figures…_

/

The sun was beginning to set.

That was the key to get moving and Blake thought it would be wise for her and Weiss to leave first. She walked up to Pearl.

"Thank you for your hospitality Pearl."

She smiled back. "You and your friends are welcome any time, Blake."

Blake nodded and headed back to Weiss. "Ready to go?"

Weiss nodded. She looked down to the eight year old she had been talking with. "It was nice to meet you Maya."

She smiled back. "And you. And I challenge you to a dance off when I go to Vale!"

"I look forward to it."

The goodbyes were only as long as social necessities required. Normally, it was some time before Blake and her family could get away. Today was different.

Mercury tagged along with them. He remained quiet save for the needed 'goodbye', but Blake thought his presence was a good reason for the lack of violence. They were happy to have another focus other than Weiss.

Weiss was mostly ignored.

Mum and Dad stuck close to them on the way home. Mercury had broken off at the junction and Qrow had appeared from wherever he had gone for most of the evening to go with him.

Blake couldn't ignore her father's tension though. He didn't _look_ stressed, but Blake knew her Dad. He was expecting trouble.

Which was why it was such a relief that they got home with nothing happening.

Dad had vanished into his study almost immediately. Mum had enticed Weiss onto the sofa for stories. Blake gave an excuse and headed outside.

But Ilia never appeared.

After an hour, Blake returned inside. She caught the end of the re-telling of their Initiation and happily added to the reminiscence.

* * *

 **AN: Apologies for the delay on this chapter.**

 **As for the question about Ruby, I'm afraid I can't answer as the answer, yes or no, is a spoiler. What I will say is that this is the final book in the trilogy and still has a bit to come. I will use time skips where necessary and thank you for sticking with it.**


	28. War Councils

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Qrow may have arrived back late, but he didn't get much sleep.

Yang and Emerald were still asleep in the living room. Ruby and Mercury had apparently decided on an early start to the day. A quick scan of the house showed only Tai awake. A glance outside showed Mercury leaning against a tree with a notebook and Talaria by him. He wasn't wearing his prosthetic arm.

"Breakfast Qrow?" Tai asked.

"Where's Ruby?"

"Shed. Breakfast?"

"Yeah. Sure."

Scrambled egg on toast. Tai sat opposite him and chewed absentmindedly. "What's wrong with you now?"

Checking the door to the sleeping girls was shut, Qrow moved the eggs around. "Just not looking forward to the chats, is all."

Tai's fork tapped the plate. "I could talk to them if you want."

Qrow chuckled. "Let's not use the big guns with Ironwood just yet, shall we?" He groaned. "And it should be me with Silvertongue."

He must have _some_ idea why Salem was now so interested in him.

But why wouldn't he have already mentioned it?

"I asked," Tai started. He had a contact he hadn't told Qrow about, for reasons like this. "He didn't know about any bounty. If Ironwood's telling the truth, it's very tight lipped."

"If he was going to lie, he wouldn't give such a ridiculous figure. But that's not the issue."

Tai went back to his meal. "Well, the aura vision is easy enough to give uses for. It's the Grimm affinity that's going to be difficult."

Qrow knew what Ironwood's problem really was and he had to admit it was a fair one.

"How long's Ruby going to be in the shed for?"

"She said she was going to paint in there after I banished her from the kitchen, so who knows? From the movie marathon Emerald and Yang had last night, I don't think they're getting up any time soon." Now finished, Tai picked up the plate and took it to the sink. "But I want you home today. I'm heading to Beacon to talk to Goodwitch for their next year."

That would be an entertaining chat. "Parent-teacher meeting or personal schedule?"

"Bit of both probably." He sighed. "I'm just worried about pushing them too fast. They're still kids and they don't need such advanced training."

"No," Qrow agreed. "The problem is that when they need that training, they won't have it." Tai opened his mouth to argue. "Remember, one of the reasons Ruby was accepted into Beacon was because of her poor decision to engage a foe far superior to her and she needed to learn fast."

"And now she's near the top of her year. I'm just saying that's far enough for now."

Qrow didn't comment.

An hour later: Tai had gone to Beacon and the kids hadn't moved from their locations.

Qrow decided to check on Ruby first.

Mercury didn't look up as he passed.

 _So he's not overseeing exactly what Ruby is painting on that arm? That's brave._

Yang's bike was closer to the wall than Qrow remembered, so she must have taken it out again at some point when he was gone. Ruby had laid old newspapers across the ground and the prosthetic was in the middle of them. Small pots of mixed colours and large, bought paint pots appeared to be placed rather randomly.

 _That…looks mostly done actually. How early did these two get up?_

Ruby herself was playing on her scroll. Every few seconds, her eyes would flicker to the arm and back again.

"Ruby, it's not going to dry any faster if you stare at it."

Ruby folded her arms and sulked. "I know. It just takes forever."

Qrow chuckled and knelt down next to her. She might be waiting for it to dry for another application, but the images were there. The colour was also there, but it looked faded. She was probably only on the first coat.

"Did you pick these or did he?"

Ruby smiled. "I did."

Qrow tilted his body a bit, trying to get the full picture. "So what'd you pick?"

She hummed. "Well, I wanted to pick things important, but not something that's going to hinder him. I mean, putting a black fox on there might make people pay more attention to them or Talaria in case she does stealth and we don't want people to know until later she's with us. And the aura Guardian Grimm…"

The colours were dark blues, black, greys and silvers.

She moved and pointed. "The Thestral that took Emerald to Hogsmeade; saved his life. Featherdance. I wanted her in colour at first but she's a memory. A memory we can never experience again."

 _If Ruby knows the features of that particular Thestral, then she must have returned to the Entrance Hall that day to help the injured. I was told she was sent to the Hospital Wing…and I assumed she stayed there. Apparently not._

Qrow sat properly. He gently rubbed her back.

Ruby snapped out of it. "So then I wondered 'what then?' They took up the top part, but the lower part of the arm is longer and well…harder."

Qrow could see what the images were. One was a serpent of some kind but the way it was drawn…He had seen that somewhere, but he couldn't place it. It was something from Vacuo, he was sure of that. The second was a dragon.

"So why two creatures? I would think of three or four."

"Well…That's not about us at all. Both of these are Mercury. One's his real self and one's whatever persona he adopts to get the job done." She pointed at the serpent; the more familiar one. "That's an Occamy. Remember them?"

Qrow chuckled. "I remember." He had only seen one. It had been on the boat they had taken to get back to Britain from America. "That's the one for adaptability."

"Yup!"

Now that Qrow had shifted his weight, he did recognise the last one. "Hungarian Horntail?"

"Nope. Easy mistake though. Norwegian Ridgeback."

Qrow took a closer look. Now that he was looking for things different, he could see this picture had ridges on its back that the Horntail hadn't had. "I see it. Like Norberta? Why that one?"

"Of the dragons other than her, that one was the best one for him."

"And you wanted to draw a dragon of some kind."

"And that." Ruby gave him an innocent smile.

Qrow's eyes drifted back to the Occamy. "Where did you see that shape, Ruby?"

The Occamy twisted around, entwining around itself. The point he was making though was the head. It was biting the end of its own tail.

"Divination. When we got back, I asked Dr Oobleck. It was a symbol sometimes used in Vacuo."

For what Vacuo was when originally founded, for what it had come to and for how the people needed to survive there.

 _Divination…Not going to comment._

"So how long have you been up for?"

Ruby checked her scroll. "Three hours."

"Had breakfast?"

"…Yes."

"That sounds like a lie Ruby." Honestly, he would have thought after all these years, she would have learned to lie better.

"I did!"

"So what'd you have?"

"…Toast."

"Me and Mercury had the last of the bread last night and Tai only got some when he got up, which was after you. Try again."

Ruby sighed. "I thought that was a good one."

Any other day, it would have been. "Go get something to eat Ruby. This isn't going to dry any time soon. And don't forget to wash your hands."

Qrow followed her out and pulled the shed door shut. He did not want Zwei in there and somehow getting covered in paint again.

Mercury had watched Ruby run inside. He only turned to Qrow when the man sat down next to him. "Do I dare to ask what she's painted?"

"It's reasonable," Qrow reassured him. "I think you'll like it."

"I'll only dislike anything unreasonable."

"I think you'll like this anyway."

Mercury's attention went back to his notebook. He circled one drawn Rune, then made a note about leather and cotton.

"Ruby's guitar case?" Qrow guessed.

"The Runes are easy enough and honestly, so's the guitar. It's the case that's tricky. Normally shrink Runes are done with blue Dust, but that doesn't work with the material and I can't just stitch something else on. Yellow Dust might work though…" He made another note.

Qrow waited for him to stop writing. He waited a few moments more but then Mercury dropped the pen altogether.

"Silvertongue, is there something you haven't told us about what happened with Salem?"

"Yes. Why?"

Qrow…wasn't expecting that answer. It wasn't that he was expecting Mercury to deny it but he expected something other than a blunt admittance.

"There's quite the bounty on you. It's not on the black market but among her personal favourites. Alive only. Any ideas why?"

There was the brief quiet Qrow had been expecting.

"How much?"

"Fourteen figures."

Another brief quiet.

"I don't know the reason. What I wasn't telling you…I didn't see Salem once. I was taken to her nine times I know of and I suspect three more as well."

Qrow blinked.

"Ginger and that machine attacked my mind. Everyone attacked my body…Salem attacked my _soul_."

… _Soul…?_

"You can't imagine it and I can't describe it...The point: I don't know why she did it and kept doing it. All I know was that it wasn't an interrogation. She wanted something and she didn't get it, so apparently she wants me back."

"Silvertongue…"

"She attacked my soul Felix. And Maia and Athena never noticed. What they sensed was them ripping the aura out of me. Salem could drop the bond so much that they had no idea what was happening. I couldn't sense them at all. She told me she could rip it apart entirely. She could rip my soul and the bond apart very easily."

Mercury circled yellow Dust. He flipped to the next page and drew the Runes in a different order. Slowly; he normally wrote with his right arm, before and after it was metal.

"You believe her."

So did Qrow.

"I know I should have mentioned it before. I don't care."

More Runes were drawn.

"If this bounty wasn't in the underground, where'd you hear it?"

"Ironwood."

"Heh. No doubt he wasn't happy when he learned a few of my 'quirks' you didn't tell him. Pass on my good luck for his research to contain and/or kill me, would you?"

Somehow, Qrow knew he was being entirely serious about that.

"Go get some breakfast Mercury."

He stood up. "It might be relevant. Zephyr told me that sometimes the Aura Wielder tattoo was black for a while before going back to silver." He walked off.

Qrow didn't follow him inside.

* * *

Blake's ears twitched.

Adam…was already dead.

There was no other answer.

The Adam Blake knew was dead.

And this thing had replaced him.

"Would it be better if I left?"

Blake froze.

Dad sighed. "That would protect you Weiss. Our home is always open to you but at the moment, it is not safe."

"For you either," Weiss pointed out. "I can fight and I will."

Blake took a breath. "We knew that you coming here was going to cause problems but…I never thought…"

"I remember Adam also," Dad continued. "I watched as he changed and I did nothing. Even after everything, I never thought he would go this far."

Blake had been warned.

She just hadn't believed it.

"The safest thing to do would be to move," Mum stated. "But that won't help for long. The other option-"

"Fight."

"Blake-"

"It won't end otherwise. If we run, Adam will just chase me. By staying and fighting…Adam has crossed a line here. He will regret it."

"Metis."

Blake blinked. She glanced at Weiss.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea. We're not ready-"

"Adam's not going to wait until I graduate Diana. No way is he going to wait another two years. He'll probably send people to Beacon and Vale." And with his connections… "We have a time and here, less people will be hurt. Adam…He's unreasonable but if we can get people to realise that; to realise what he's doing…He'll be on his own."

"You're focusing too much on Adam. He won't be there-"

"I know that. But I'm done running."

Weiss swallowed what was probably an angry retort. "I know the sentiment, but pick your battles."

"I am. And I want to fight this one. It's going to happen, so it's going to happen on my terms."

"…Then I'll stand by you."

Blake suppressed her initial response. "This isn't your fight-"

"That's one viewpoint. I've decided it's inconvenient and contradicts my standing that you're my friend and I'm partly responsible for this…" _Glare._ "Then I moved the scheduling up. I am not leaving because someone in particular doesn't like me."

Mum gently rebuked her. "It is not that he dislikes you Weiss. He dislikes everyone that does not agree with him."

Blake nodded. "If anything, us being friends made you a target."

Weiss scoffed. "Blake, I am the Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." She gave a gentle smile. "The company known for its shady business deals and questionable business practices."

Blake couldn't stop the smile this time.

And the embarrassed blush when Mum and Dad gave her a meaningful look.

Weiss must have noticed too. "So…What now?"

"Now?" Dad repeated. "Now we make sure we stay as safe as possible."

* * *

Qrow didn't like Atlas.

It wasn't the high monorails or the skyscrapers. It wasn't the weather or the holograms. It wasn't even the Atlesian Knights clanking around.

This particular time, Qrow was already tired from the constant travel and time changes. Vale, then Menagerie, now Atlas…His body clock wasn't happy with him. Normally there was more than a few days between these across continent trips.

Public transport was needed, but that wouldn't get him to the academy at this time of night. After the rise in crime due to the prison break, multiple security procedures had been put in place, such as a curfew. Even when term wasn't in session.

So Qrow had to take the train to get close and then fly.

 _I hate flying in Atlas. Crows don't live here for a reason._

 _Is it just me or is there far fewer people around than any time I've been here before?_

It didn't change. There was never more than ten passengers in his carriage and it was designed for over fifty.

 _Something happening?_

Nothing did.

That put him more on edge.

 _No students around…It is late but no one?_

Ironwood had (kindly or idiotically) left his window open. That did take out a lot of the hour travel time from the closest station. Wings long since aching, Qrow forced a final burst of energy.

The man was sitting behind the desk, reading a report that Qrow suspected was nothing to do with his school. The only light on was the desk lamp. The other desks in the room were also covered in paperwork.

There was also a food tray with two covered dishes on it.

Ironwood looked up when Qrow shifted back. He stood up. "Qrow." He gestured to the tray. "I assume you haven't eaten?"

"Not since this morning," Qrow admitted. As Ironwood moved over to the food, Qrow took the opposite seat at his desk and carefully piled the papers to make room. Ironwood then put the meal in front of him. "Sunday roast, huh?"

"Indeed." He sat down in his seat. "There is a hotel not an hour from here if you're not already sorted."

"That'd be helpful."

"I'll make a call." He placed the reorganised papers on the floor. "We have much to discuss. I think it would be best if said discussion was completely open."

Qrow tilted his head and considered. He picked up the cutlery. "Agreed." The lamb was good. "Out of curiosity, where is everyone tonight?"

Ironwood began his own meal. "Many of the politicians are at Mr Schnee's ball. I know a few of the students have arranged one of their own in the city and many of the younger generation are there. I imagine it will be very busy after midnight."

That was a relief. Qrow had far worse thoughts in mind. "So nothing bad in Atlas?"

"Nothing yet. At the moment, that troubles me. All official and 'less official' shipments are nothing out of the ordinary."

Qrow barely gave him a glance. "Atlas isn't interesting at the moment, General. You don't have much to worry about on your home ground for another three years."

"That is not as much of a relief as it should be. I will point out the changeling and Byrding were caught in Atlas. There was also an attack of Grimm hybrids at the Schnee Heir wake. Who else is hiding here?"

It took Qrow a moment to figure out Byrding was the Undesirable that committed suicide. Now that he thought about it… "What happened with those Dust mines anyway? I heard there was an attempt but no details." Mostly because his focus at the time had been closer to home.

Ironwood hesitated. "Unfortunately, upon reflection, I would not call that a serious attempt. I believe it was a scouting mission. How successful they were and how quiet it has been since is another worry on my mind. I fear they are putting people in place, like Team Rainbow."

"It probably won't be a Haven team again. Beacon is even more risky for them as the best qualifiers from the second years know everyone and would know if someone didn't belong. That leaves Atlas and Shade. We both know which they would pick if they try that ploy again."

There was an aggravated sigh. "And those were the least helpful documents."

"You know their style." Qrow placed the cutlery back on the now empty plate. "But she's more original than that."

…

"Where do we stand on the Relic?"

"The idea of hiding it by Runes works for everyday objects." And Zwei. Qrow pushed his hands in his pockets. "There is a possible problem. How much aura it takes to charge the Runes depends on what's in the bag. Putting Dust crystals in there took almost thirty times more than an animal. A Relic might be too much…"

"Not for Crawford."

Qrow blinked. That almost sounded like a compliment. He raised an eyebrow. "Sure of that, are you?"

"He's a proper topic to discuss a little later." Ironwood also put down his now unneeded knife and fork. "Let's speak of Haven first. Are Remedy definitely going this year?"

"Afraid so." It was a good idea; to keep them away. "At least this way, Emerald already being there saves them a plan to get her there. I got a feeling that would have taken a lot of collateral damage."

"Understood. With my main focus on Haven, the other schools could be a target."

"Rather unlikely-"

"But possible."

Qrow shrugged. "Possible."

"The Fall Maiden is known to them, remember. They have a way of bypassing the normal criteria and stealing it; she needs to remain on her guard and have a guard."

"Bring it up with her."

"Oh, we've spoken already. It was quite the talk." That sounded ominous. "She has decided Atlas would be nice to visit at that time of year."

"It's not. But if that's what is going to happen…" The Fall Maiden being in Atlas was an interesting choice. Vacuo was scoundrel central and it was tempting having Fall next to her vault. To be fair, Haven was completely out of the question.

"We were talking of Haven. If it is doable, then Ryu and Crawford can retrieve the Relic and hide it. No one would think much of Ryu being there if she is a competitor, so she can move about freely. However, this goes two ways. I want her wearing a tracking device at all times."

Okay, Qrow didn't like this. "Like the one you slipped Mercury?"

Ironwood didn't react to that. He was calm. "No. That only told me if he moved out of Vale City. The one I want to give her will pinpoint exactly where she is. Not only is Mistral extremely large, I don't trust Leonardo at all anymore."

 _When he said honest talk, he really meant it. Not even annoyed at me pointing that out._

Qrow waited.

"The question does become 'what happens to the Relic after'? I assume leaving it in this unfindable bag is not possible?"

"Not a chance. It would need to stay with someone that was an Aura Wielder at all times." He shrugged. "I only know one and I do not want a Relic near him." He was already a fourteen figure target.

 _Might stick a tracking device on him anyway._

"Agreed. Perhaps putting it back would be best for now. I am open to suggestions for that. For the record, I have heard rumours of another Aura Wielder. They place her in Raven's tribe."

Qrow groaned. "Great." Just what Raven didn't need. Why not give her a Maiden too?

Oh, wait. That had already happened.

Was it a good or a bad thing that Marcus had killed her?

"However, this theory is based on the assumption that she doesn't have a dual Semblance of healing and summoning."

"Rather unlikely." That said, ignoring pain and injury had been a Semblance before and that was why it never clicked for Cinder that Mercury was one when he thought that was his. "But possible. In no situation should Raven get the Relic. Ever."

Mercury was wrong. Raven didn't work for Salem.

But Qrow didn't want to find out what lengths she would go to avoid her.

He wasn't wrong about Raven's lifestyle being helpful to Salem.

"Agreed. It does prove something we suspected though: just because no Aura Wielders had passed through Combat Schools or took high profile missions didn't mean there were none these past sixty years. They were just not known."

"Yeah, but that doesn't help our problem. It's a bad idea to hand over this thing unless it's someone who has already proven they're not interested in helping Salem. The sticking point is that a lot don't know she exists and ever fewer would stand up to her."

Raven.

"That is something Ryu and Crawford have more than proven. However, I believe they shouldn't keep hold of it. If it takes that much power to keep it hidden using these Runes, then we need a solution."

Qrow tilted his head back. "This damn Festival is weeks long."

"If we sent it out of Mistral, where would we send it?" Ironwood placed his scroll on the desk. A hologram of the Remnant map appeared.

Qrow leaned forward and thought. "Well, the schools are a bad idea…" Unless… "What do you think about giving it to Amber within the next few days to hide in Beacon?"

Ironwood didn't immediately snap the obvious at him. He considered it more thoughtfully. "Let us say for the sake of argument we manage this without Salem finding out, which I do not believe possible. There might still be a strategy for Amber and we would be handing over two Relics rather than one…" His eyes left the map and went to Qrow. "Did Ozpin ever say anything about what would happen if two Relics are brought together?"

"No. In fairness, this time he may genuinely not know."

Oz did keep secrets.

The Relics were something that were never a high priority; not until they learned that Maiden power could be stolen like that.

Even so, Qrow had not learned anything he didn't already know beforehand.

Ironwood was quiet for a moment, then sighed. "Possible. I will bring it up with him next time we speak." He returned to the map. "Is there anywhere you can think of that would be suitable?"

He may have taken a few seconds to think about it, but Qrow had known the answer immediately. "No."

"…Neither can I. Whoever has it immediately becomes a target. We cannot leave it somewhere with confidence it won't be found by the wrong people…Unless we hide the place with these Runes too. Would that be more or less of a drain?"

Qrow thought it over. Mercury had been thorough with his explanation, even if he didn't understand any of the theory behind it.

"That varies. Larger areas require more aura but are less likely to be affected by the Relic. On the other hand, a small area means anyone can power it but the power of the Relic might make the whole thing collapse. He doesn't know until he actually has an ancient, unknown item to test with. How about Atlas' Relic?"

"No. Did you give him Beacon's?"

"Of course not. No one wants a Relic anywhere near him, including him. He did offer to try the experiment with Dust crystals, but he only has access to the already processed ones. Get him a few of differing sizes from the Dust mines and we might get a better idea."

Ironwood was silent for a moment. That was worrying. "What results does he have already for this theory?"

Qrow was reluctant to say, but Ironwood had been open so far.

"He has access to one unprocessed crystal; he uses it to power a new weapon. That required significantly more than the other Dust he tried with. He won't know which was the deciding factor."

"Colour and size?"

Qrow shrugged, acting casual. "Find him another crystal that's half rainbow, half black."

There was little reaction there. Ozpin had apparently already mentioned to him about those. That was a relief.

"Has he had any success on using the black Dust portion?"

"Absolutely none. And yes, he has tried." Quite thoroughly.

"I'm…not sure if that is good or bad news."

Qrow knew the feeling. "We can get the Relic out of the vault easy enough. It's what we do with it afterwards where we're having the problem."

"What are your thoughts on leaving it there?"

Qrow let out a long breath. "In one way, it's safer. Only the Spring Maiden can get in. On the other, Emerald being there means they have plenty of opportunity to…coerce her." He shook his head viciously; throwing the images out. "If we take it out, she can play along until it is safe enough to escape. Those cat Grimm…I'm pretty sure Salem knows it's her."

That was the main reason Qrow would accept her going to Haven. It meant that their threats were likely to stay threats rather than kidnap someone in the family and use them. Emerald would open it for them.

They were clever. They were resourceful.

They would be fine.

"She will be protected Qrow. I promise."

…

"I think we've gone as far as we can with Haven at the moment."

"…Agreed."

"What next?"

"The Winter and Summer Maidens?"

"Still unknown."

That was a really annoying fact. While Krystal Umi had been known, Raven's tribe had been safe for her for over a decade. It was only because they made the mistake of attacking a town that Marcus was drinking in that cost Raven her Maiden. The power had then gone to her cousin; it often went to relatives or close friends. A good starting point.

Unfortunately, they had no idea where to start with Summer and Winter.

Ironwood sighed. "I think it is time to move on to your stepson."

Qrow folded his arms, keeping his position relaxed. "And where do you want to start?"

"I'll start with what I know." Ironwood leaned down and picked up a pile of papers stapled together. "These are the papers we took from Byrding."

Very interested, Qrow took them. The photo was an old one, taken before the tournament. However, Qrow couldn't place it. It was only a head and shoulders shot so there was no context.

 _Let's see …Aura Wielder…Flying fox, Grimm, kitten, shark-Where did they get kitten from? I've never heard about a cougar or pitbull or coyote-had to be there somewhere-or badger…A two page list of potential aura animals? Good grief…Pretty good summation of his aura levels…Immune to 99% of posions at least...Affinity for Grimm…Animin bond…Coyote Faunus…_

As he read further, Qrow's heart seemed to slow.

 _Initially sensitive to high frequency for a short time if not expecting it…Very sensitive hearing that is a strength and temporary weakness…Is hardwired to treat strangers or acquaintances cautiously and presumed they can become a threat…Use extreme care when engaging and don't stick to one strategy as he adapts to it and exploited weaknesses very swiftly…_

No mention of shapeshifting or phasing.

Qrow let out a long breath. "Fucking hell."

Ironwood didn't react.

 _This is way too much information on him._

"What's your stand on this?"

"Crawford is in a unique position. I am satisfied he is against Salem but I do not like the fact he is such a target, no matter how powerful."

"Something we agree on, James."

"I put him on the same importance of a Maiden."

"…That's quite the claim."

Ironwood leaned back in his chair. He ignored the casual calm. "I will be blunt with you, Qrow. I fought that first rouge aura animal. I lost half my fleet. It has since at least tripled in power. It can have a far more intelligent mind. Combine those with his Semblance and will…Do you understand my concerns Qrow?"

Qrow did.

"The problem is that you have no way to control or contain him. And you would have to add me to that list as well."

"Qrow, I'm not looking for a fight. I have to trust him; I have no choice. What I need from you is for you to tell me straight away if something happens to make him change his mind. Even if you think you can bring him back to who you know, I need to know the second he becomes a threat."

"And then what?"

Ironwood rubbed his temples. "I don't know Qrow. My concern is the civillians. We both know he could do a lot of damage and death if he wanted. Do I think I have the technology to kill him? Not at the moment."

"Mercury asked how your new aura suppression collar is coming along." At Ironwood's glare, Qrow shrugged. "I think he genuinely means it. If he can become this powerful, so can someone else. Though it would have to be by different means. I can't say it's impossible."

"…The answer is poorly." Ironwood waved at the papers. "That's your copy. Crawford should be warned of the strategies that they could employ against him. He is too valuable to lose."

They weren't new and would each only work for a few seconds but…

It could happen.

They knew what he was capable of; better than Qrow apparently. They was missing key information, but that information was not necessary in a fight. He didn't use shapeshifting or phasing in battle.

"We're on the same page that he does _not_ get kidnapped again?"

"Yes."

Qrow groaned. "General, was there anything in those documents that referenced his tattoo turning black?"

"Black…? No, there wasn't. When it is referred to, it is always noted as 'silver'. There is very little mention of it, only that it is concluded that this particular symbol indicates the highest potential possible. Did he mention anything about this bounty?"

…

"He was taken to Salem more than once. He didn't know the reason why. His theory is that she didn't get what she wanted, so she wants him back. I honestly don't want to know what for."

Ironwood looked down at his stack of papers on the floor. "At Haven, there is the opportunity to…harm both Ryu and Crawford. I stand by them staying away during the Festival."

That wasn't happening, unfortunately. "There is the entire trip Mercury's taking across Anima."

"He hasn't changed his mind about that?"

"Nope. All this bounty did was tell him he was stopping at every town along the way and that we wouldn't be happy if he didn't check in every night."

"That is a very bad idea."

Qrow just looked at him.

"Is he at least taking the dragon with him?"

"He is. She technically doesn't need to eat, so there won't be that sort of trouble."

Ironwood raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on that impossible biology. "The display at the Vytal Festival is enough to convince me that she is under control. It might not be what I would assign, but at least he isn't completely alone. She is venomous, swift and intelligent. Is there anything else about her?"

"She is a good lookout and very protective of her pack. Mercury's seen as her mother. There's nothing else to say." Most likely, Talaria would be awake while Mercury would be asleep. She would then rest in his hood for some of the day and be active the rest.

Not quite as good as Qrow would like but he would take it.

For now.

"You're not happy with this."

…

"None of it."

"That is something we agree on." There was a brief quiet. "Qrow, give my personal scroll number to Mercury. I'm sure that I would be informed if something were to happen but even so. He is an important figure and we need to cooperate."

"I'll pass it on."

"There's one last topic, Qrow."

Qrow blinked. He had assumed Mercury would be the last. "What's that?"

"When I spoke with Amber, she identified the woman with Cinder that day: Azure Shadow."

"Azure…?" Qrow knew that name. He had heard Amber- "Her street kid friend."

"Exactly."

 _That's rough._

"She was adamant Azure was hired; that she would run and won't be a problem again."

"She might be right," Qrow commented. "People with that kind of background look after themselves. She saw Cinder killed; she won't be coming near us again."

"It is a loose end Qrow and we could gain valuable information. Something we are heavily lacking. Could you track her down?"

Qrow considered. "I can try. Like I said, she's not going to be happy to see me."

"You managed with Ryu and Crawford."

"Because of a magical bond that they are stuck with. I haven't got one of those lying around." Even then, it had been a struggle.

"This is key Qrow. We have even less information this time and have more people to protect. This is with a far larger territory and the appearance of new Grimm that have not been documented before. There are still Undesirables loose and the Dust supply to the Huntsmen has yet to properly replenish. We're in a worse situation now than we were before."

"Much as I hate to say it, I can't argue with that."

Zephyr had told them and Mercury as much as he could.

However, Zephyr wasn't high up in the ladder at the time. He probably wasn't even on the ladder. He was an outsider; ignored for the most part but able to pick up things here and there. He would have mentioned if he knew Mercury was 'visiting' Salem if he knew about it.

 _Only told what they needed to know when they needed to know it…and Zephyr never did._

"What if they all have poison pills in their teeth?"

"Then we need another way. That will be the first thing I check for if we get lucky again. For curiosity reasons, what are the specifics for this Grimm connection?"

"Very situational and case by case."

"…I see. Qrow, thank you."

"Hey, I got a dinner out of it. This hotel had better have a good bar." Getting hammered was such a tempting idea.

"It does."

"Then I'll probably next see you at the Festival General. Try to smile this time."

Qrow stood up, shifted and flew back out the window.

 _He's not wrong. This Festival is going to be more of a hassle than the last one. I can only hope it doesn't end as badly._

* * *

Tai and Qrow were both out of the house.

Emerald knew something was up. There was a week to go before Beacon started up and Yang was nervous about something. That was never good.

Yang stopped at the stairs. "Ruby, could you come down please?"

 _Must be serious._

Emerald glanced over at Mercury, who was on the seat next to the couch she was on. His eyes went to Yang for a moment before he stretched and put his scroll down.

 _Must be very serious._

Yang leaned on Mercury's chair.

Emerald narrowed her eyes at him.

He just stared back.

Ruby walked into this scene. "Umm…What's going on?"

Yang's arm was brushed against Mercury's shoulder. They could aura read between them.

"It's important, Ruby," Yang answered. "Sit."

"Woof," Ruby replied as she sat next to Emerald. "But what's wrong?"

Mercury let out a long breath. "I know the reason why we went after Fall and not Spring Emerald. And you need to know it."

Emerald's eyes flickered between Yang and Mercury. Unease began to swirl within her.

"Okay. I'll ask. Why?"

"In each of the schools, there is a Relic. A very important and dangerous artefact. Each is hidden in a particular school and only a particular Maiden can open to the door to them. Nothing else will work. A nuclear explosion would keep the door intact."

They all flinched.

Emerald thought she could see where this was going. "Haven…That's Spring, isn't it?"

"Yes. Fall was Beacon. If Cinder's plan worked, Beacon would have been desolate and she would have the Relic of Choice. In Haven, there is an artefact called the Relic of Knowledge." He rolled his eyes. "Do I need to go into any detail as to why it is a bad idea?"

The unease began to drift into dread. "I see…"

The odds of them knowing Emerald was a Maiden were very good. Before, Emerald hadn't really cared. Now that she knew they wanted her for an artefact rather than just her power…

That relaxed her a little.

"Okay."

"I'll raise you that the Headmaster is most likely a mole."

Emerald smiled at him. "I'll see your 'Headmaster is a mole' and raise an 'I don't care'."

Mercury smiled back.

Ruby wasn't so amused. "Emerald-"

"Ironwood and his army are going to be there," Yang interrupted. "And he doesn't trust the Headmaster either. There's also loads of teachers and students and we'll know quite a few of them. We're more powerful now, Ironwood isn't going to cause us problems and we know of the danger. It'll be fine…But not going should be thought about."

"Oh, I'm going," Emerald replied. She wasn't going to be scared off.

She was done being scared.

Mercury cocked his head, still staring at her.

 _I am done being scared._

"Maia. Just because you've had enough doesn't mean we have to go looking for trouble," Ruby stated firmly. "It's not just about us. A lot of people could be hurt and that's not worth our pride or need to prove to ourselves."

"Athena, you're free to stay at Beacon if you wish. I'm heading to Haven. If for no other reason than to laugh at Mercury for his babysitting duties and possibly bribe him into a solo performance." No way was she leaving him alone to face the dangers.

"That stupid thing is staying in the cupboard where it belongs," Mercury replied casually.

Emerald doubted that. Even if Mercury didn't take _his_ harmonica (and he probably would while complaining about it constantly), she would.

"You spent a lot of money on it. You're taking it."

Ruby sighed.

"Athena," Yang cooed softly. "It'll be fine. You two just needed to know."

"Right." Ruby didn't sound convinced. "I'd better tag along to keep you three out of trouble then." She frowned as she thought. "And maybe make sure you don't go a bit overboard with Sun."

It clicked for Yang faster than it clicked for Emerald. Her mind was still on this artefact/Maiden threat.

"I am not dating Scarlet, Ruby."

There was the life back in Ruby's eyes. "So you say. What will he say?"

Yang folded her arms. "The exact same."

Ruby looked at Emerald.

{Hey, she might be right. But there are a lot of people she hasn't met at Haven. Maybe she'll meet someone.}

Ruby's grin was near feral.

Yang's eyes went between Ruby and Emerald, knowing she was missing something. Mercury just stretched out and cupped his hands behind his head.

 _Let's get off this topic. Now._

"So, with Tai and Qrow out until tomorrow…Who's making dinner?"

Ruby and Yang considered Emerald's valid question.

Then they simultaneously looked at Mercury.

"No way."

Yang put her hands on her hips. "We just want to make sure you're ready for the world Eris. You may have passed Beacon's tests but you haven't passed ours. We have very different expectations in mind and you had better meet them."

Mane Graduation would be easy compared to some of the possible 'tests'.

 _But you have to appreciate the good times while they last, especially when you know you're going to walk straight into trouble._

Cooking was a useful skill and Tai had made sure they learned. What else could they test?

 _I am done being scared._


	29. A Fight for the Future

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

One hour.

"You do realise that everyone on Menagerie is going to know, right?"

"So? Hardly a secret; loads know. They just don't see the point of mentioning it as it falls under the wonderful categories of 'who cares?' and 'none of my business'."

"Still…"

Weiss entered. "Are you ready for this?"

"Yes."

"Definitely. Beats my chores for the weekend."

Blake smiled. "What have they got you doing now?"

"They've decided they want a treehouse and I'm to build it on my own."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "It would take you two hours at most."

"…About that, yeah. This is a far better way to spend my time."

"Barbarian."

"And tomorrow was a shopping trip. Ruby's outgrown a lot of her favourite outfits and Yang's dragging us all along citing a…wardrobe malevolence."

Weiss frowned. "Don't you mean 'wardrobe malfunction'?"

"Only Emerald's blew up and most of her clothes weren't in it at the time. No need for me to get dragged along."

Blake eyed her wardrobe. All of a sudden, it felt very fragile.

Shaking her head, Blake left the room, heading to the balcony. The other three were still bickering, paying no mind as the time quickly counted time.

Weiss was holding Myrtenaster very tightly. Melody was tense, shifting from foot to foot. Mercury left the room.

Dad and Mum were in the living room, talking about whether they wanted to downsize in the next few years.

In other words, they were ready and were now trying to stay calm as they waited for an attack on the house.

"Blake?"

Blake glanced around to find Weiss had followed her.

"Conquering Remnant?"

She let out a long breath. "Yeah. Sounds good."

They wouldn't be anywhere near finished but it was something to keep her mind off things. It might even get her in a good state of mind.

But there was a problem. "Where's Mercury gone?"

"Said he wanted to do a final recon and not to wait for him. You know what he's like."

Blake knelt down at Atlas' position. "None of you should be here."

Weiss shuffled the cards. "I think we should all be here, not just us three. At least this is making a statement rather than overconfidence or suicidal independence."

Blake gave her her best death glare.

Weiss ignored it. "I'm not going to be the one to tell Jaune about this." She rolled the dice. "Nine."

Blake rolled a twelve.

Melody rolled. "Four."

Blake's turn first.

* * *

Mercury had seen moving shadows out the window. A quick blink confirmed it as the chameleon girl he met last time. He headed outside for a quick recon, but also to see if she would land close enough to talk to.

She had helped a little before; she might again.

He had barely taken four steps out of the house when someone else caught his attention.

 _Okay. A young kid trembling in the bushes. What to do, what to do…_

There was no sign of the chameleon girl and the boy was hidden from actual view. Most people couldn't see through solid objects.

This meant the boy was most likely not part of a trap.

But what possible reason could he have for being out here? Something wasn't right here.

 _He is also quite bright in aura vision._

Mercury casually walked up to the bush. "Found you Akorn." The boy jumped about a foot. If Mercury doubted he was afraid of something, that look of terror on his face squashed them. "If you're playing hide and seek, go find a better spot. Preferably away from here." He was never going to hear the end of it if this kid got hurt while he was nearby.

"I-I…"

Best to check this now. "Do your parents or brother know where you are?"

"I…"

Mercury tilted his head, keeping his face passive. This wasn't an 'I'm out after curfew' trouble. This was 'someone's going to get hurt' trouble.

"Kid, Blake's house is probably full for the night but if you've got nowhere else to go, she'll help out."

Something really wasn't right here.

The kid had been jumpy when Mercury had first met him before the barbecue. Qrow didn't seem to think it was them that caused that. Akorn had gotten along well with Weiss and she was his brother's friend, so it probably wasn't her either.

But Mercury didn't think this kid was hanging around outside Blake's house on a planned assassination night by coincidence.

"She can't, she…" Akorn's eyes were darting everywhere.

Mercury heard someone land on the dirt behind him. He didn't visibly react. He shifted his weight so he would be able to respond the millisecond something happened, but kept his focus on Akorn.

Whether he was a trap or just an opportunity, he was the best thing to react to.

Akorn looked behind him.

He took a deep breath.

"Blake, she…She's in trouble. I-I need to warn her but I can't. I…"

Mercury listened. He knew more. "Don't supposed you could tell me what the trouble is?"

"I can't; I promised."

"I wasn't talking to you." Mercury turned around. Empty space save for the moon produced shadow. "I was asking you."

There was a second's hesitation.

Then the girl coloured back into normality. "It's not his fault. They threatened his parents." She glanced at Akorn. "Get inside Akorn. They'll protect you. I'll tell them my truth."

Mercury considered, but decided not to stop the boy.

Akorn couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Mercury waited until he heard Blake's front door and Ghira accept him in. From his angle, he wouldn't see the two.

"You've covered for him before."

"They weren't happy he went to the barbecue. He was supposed to be an outside spy. He wasn't supposed to be inside." She sighed. "He never wanted this."

How Akorn got caught up in all this wasn't Mercury's problem and he was too short on time to ask out of curiosity. Talking with the chameleon though was worth the time. "Why are you here?"

"I was going to ask you the same. But you already know what's happening tonight."

Mercury displayed a toothy smile. "I know what they're going to _try_ tonight. I'm looking forward to it." It would be nice to see Blake in her element.

He was also curious as to how the Menagerie public would take it.

The girl hesitated.

"They've moved it up an hour."

She vanished. She ran east.

 _Interesting. That gives me about fifteen minutes._

Mercury had come out to do recon. No doubt the girl was originally part of the plan and might still participate, but she was taking a risk. For now, he would play along and keep her cover. He would stay out for another ten minutes before heading back inside.

That way, Akorn had to be invited inside because Blake's friend had seen him.

It did seem off that their lookouts were a confused kid and an even more confused teen-ish age girl (chameleon notwithstanding).

But a quick glance around showed nobody. A casual walk showed no one either.

 _Okay maybe they were that idiotic._

Five minutes to go before the revised timeline.

Mercury returned to the house.

* * *

Their game was interrupted by a call from the living room.

Blake immediately ran to investigate.

Melody and Weiss exchanged a look before grabbing their weapons and following. Melody snagged Blake's on her way out.

Whatever Melody was expecting, it wasn't a scared little boy.

He was on the couch. None of them could get a word in. "I'm sorry I couldn't…They're coming and they're coming now. I-"

Melody sat next to him. "Easy now. Take a deep breath." She waited until he had. "And another." He did. "Now. What do you need to get off your chest?"

He took another deep breath.

Melody gently rubbed his back.

Blake sat next to him. "Akorn. It's okay."

"It's not. I'm sorry Blake. I'm really sorry. But I couldn't…They're coming here Blake. They'll be here soon. Really soon. I'm sorry but they know where my parents live and they haven't had time to move here-"

"It's okay Akorn."

"I'm sorry."

This was wrong.

A child shouldn't be in this mess.

They couldn't let him be here when the attack happened.

"Akorn, is there somewhere you can go tonight?" Melody asked. "It's not safe for you here."

Akorn shook his head. "If they find out…My parents…They'll know."

Melody caught Blake's eye.

If Akorn left and they knew he had warned them…

What were they supposed to do?

Mum looked at Blake. "Do you have Dale's number? He should know."

Blake nodded. "I'll make the call."

Akorn's head shot up. "But-"

"Tonight is the best time," Weiss told him gently. "They won't be watching him because they will be busy with us."

"I know a few people that can help," Dad added. He stood up and put his hand on Blake's shoulder as they left the room.

Melody stayed with Akorn.

Weiss took the now empty seat next to Akorn while Mum went into the kitchen, possibly to get him a hot drink.

Now she got a proper look at him, he wasn't as young as Melody thought. He was probably closer to twelve or thirteen than the eight she initially believed him.

Honestly, she didn't see that that made any difference.

He shouldn't be here.

Dale had known something was off with his parents and even more with his brother. He just hadn't known what.

But all of them would be okay.

There was the sound of the front door closing and a click signalling a lock.

Blake took a deep breath.

She was worried about this fight, but that wasn't her main fear.

Her main fear was what was going to happen after.

Mercury entered the kitchen. He tossed Gambol Shroud to her and gestured to the living room. "Has he got to the timetable moved up part yet?"

"Yes," Blake replied. She checked her weapon to be sure.

"We didn't plan for a kid and he's definitely not a fighter. Push comes to shove, who knows what he'll do."

Blake glared at him. "We protect him." She looked past him. Akorn was oblivious to everything around him.

Mercury raised an eyebrow. "Every room of this house has a wall to the outside. There isn't really a safe room."

"He'll stay in the living room," Dad replied. "There's enough furniture in there to use as obstacles. He won't fight."

The doorbell went.

Blake blinked.

So did her father.

"I wasn't expecting that," Blake admitted.

Mercury headed back into the living room. Blake and Dad followed him. Melody gently guided Akorn to the other side of the room, near the bookcase. He was now against a wall not connected to the outside and out of immediate sight of the front door.

Akorn was shaking, but still mostly unresponsive.

 _Are those…tears?_

"Akorn." Melody patted his shoulder. "It'll be okay. You'll see."

Mercury suddenly grabbed Weiss by the arm and dragged her across the room.

The window she had just been standing near exploded.

Blake jumped.

Dad moved.

He passed her before grabbing the now unconscious Faunus on the floor and putting him in the corner; out of immediate danger.

Blake was now very suspicious of how much Mercury had been holding back in Combat Class. He had put Polar down in seconds, before her dad could even get there and she knew Polar had his aura unlocked. She had seen it shatter.

 _Polar…_

"He's a distraction," Blake remembered. Polar always attacked the area the bulk of the strike team would not target. "Stay here. Melody, cover the window." There shouldn't be anyone else coming in that way (or at least not many) but Melody's main weapon was large and long range. She was getting there in hand to hand, but she was nowhere near hers or even Weiss' league.

More importantly, she would struggle to fight these people who had far more experience than her.

Weiss had the advantage of a more versatile weapon and Semblance.

Dad and Mum gave Mercury an odd look before having a conversation with a glance.

"Fan out a little," Dad ordered. "There's the kitchen and a bedroom."

Mercury closed his eyes. Oddly, he turned his head as if he were looking around. "The whole house is surrounded. Most are about twenty feet away save for the ones hanging around Conquering Remnant."

Blake wasn't going to ask right now.

They had been playing Conquering Remnant in her bedroom. That was their likely target.

The sharp sound of shattering glass behind the door confirmed it.

Melody gently but firmly guided Akorn further away. She then stayed, guarding him. Weiss chose to stand a little to the side, but mostly straight in front of the door. She would be the first person they saw. Mercury maneuvered against the wall next to the door; out of their sight line when they crashed in. Eyes still closed, he held up his palm, all fingers splayed.

Five people.

Blake stood tall next to Weiss.

There was a tense wait.

Melody grabbed someone from just underneath the window pane and threw them into the room. She then pulled a pair of handcuffs from her nearby bag and chained them to the radiator.

Blake didn't know them and she didn't question where Melody got handcuffs from.

"You'll regret this," he growled.

Melody glared at him. "I don't think so."

Mercury shifted his weight slightly.

Two seconds later, the door slammed open. Five entered and immediately scattered around the living room.

The last one through didn't get far; Mercury caught him. His aura shattered practically instantly and was knocked out seconds later. The others didn't notice.

A woman went straight for their prisoner and Melody. Dad intercepted her and Melody, in a show of practiced precision, carefully used the whips of Hydra to wrap around her. This did put Melody out of the fight but that was fine.

The other three had circled around; two right and one left.

Weiss froze the ground and the two that headed right by the ankles. They weren't going anywhere soon.

Mum caught the one heading left and held him in place. Mercury swiftly smacked him in the back of the head, somehow shattering his aura and knocking him out at the same time.

The two caught in ice looked around the room.

They dropped their weapons.

"No more," Mercury noted. He seemed a little confused.

The fight was over in less than five minutes.

Blake gazed around the room.

Polar.

She didn't recognise the others. With the exception of the cat Faunus Melody had dragged in that had been under the window pane, the would-be assassins were in their late twenties at the eldest. One, which didn't appear to have any visible traits at all, looked almost younger than Blake. He wasn't far off Akorn's age.

Blake turned to Mercury. "Any sign of the twins?"

Mercury shook his head. "There's no one. Just them. I was expecting more."

Honestly, so was Blake.

Melody sighed. "I was honestly hoping they would be older."

The youngest one sneered and opened his mouth.

Mercury nodded at the boy. "I thought I knew you. You were in the escape rooms three months ago. You and your friends got the highest score for the heist game."

"Really?" Melody asked. "That was the hardest one."

"You didn't get out until ten minutes after." He smiled at her. "To be fair, most don't get out of that one on time. Some don't get out at all."

The boy growled. "Most of the old farts are cowards."

Dad gave him a firm look. "Or maybe they have a better idea of what they want."

"I know damn well what I want."

"I see." Dad turned to Mercury. "I assume that you don't work for bigots?"

Mercury scoffed. "Nope. Both Faunus and human. Honestly can't say which treated me better. They were both very good." He frowned. "I'm genuinely confused here. Why would you think that assassinating the Belladonnas of all people in Menagerie of all places would help the Faunus? It seems…counter-productive to me."

There was a silence.

"Seriously?" Melody asked incredulously. "I thought the White Fang were supposed to be freedom fighters, not a cult. They didn't even need to give you a reason?"

Akorn looked at Melody. He didn't say anything.

"What freedom fighter assassinate the people they are supposedly representing?" Mercury replied. "In the sanctuary of all places."

Blake glanced at her father. He was looking around too.

Something was very wrong here.

"Mercury." Blake stared at the boy. He was very stubborn. She caught Mercury turn his attention to her. "What is going on outside?"

Melody frowned at her, but she said nothing.

"Nothing nearby…The twins are about 70 yards out actually but…I can't tell what they're doing. There's a third person with them. About four feet tall. I'm not sure if he's a kid or just smaller than common."

Weiss stared at the young boy, her eyes narrowing a little. "What have you got there?"

"Nothing."

That was the tone Blake used when she didn't want people to know what she had been reading.

But there was something more there.

Almost…

Sing song like.

He was smiling a little.

Mercury opened his eyes. He looked over the boy's head at Blake. He mouthed a word.

'Gunpowder'.

'Aura', Blake mouthed at Melody. She had touched him; she must know.

Melody shook her head.

He…

Fury.

Pity.

One was much stronger than the other.

"Do you think that's going to help?" Blake asked quietly.

The boy ignored her.

"Let's say it works. Let's say we all die." Mum and Dad turned to her. Their expressions were unreadable. "Let's say you live. What then?"

"I'm willing to do whatever is necessary."

"What is necessary?"

Her friends were watching her.

The other White Fang members were watching her.

Mercury spoke. "If it's worth your life and ours, it's worth saying. What is it you actually want Tigger?"

Blake blinked.

Tigger.

Actual name Tiger but-

He flinched and growled. " _Do not_ call me that."

 _But his friends call him Tigger because he was such a softy._

"Yet you don't have the courage to say it."

"Fine. Humans in their rightful place."

"And then what?"

Eyes went back to Blake.

She wasn't gentle yet.

"We enslave the humans. We have peace and security. We die happily of old age. Leaving our children to fight the war when humans decide to put Faunus in _their_ place. Repeat continuously. _Forever_."

Weiss dropped her blade.

The ice holding the two melted.

They didn't immediately attack; they thought it was a trap.

Mercury unclipped his weapon. It fell to the ground.

The two Faunus separated, dashing around the coffee table.

The side wall exploded.

* * *

The fight itself inside the house had been quiet. An internal affair.

Bombs are often used in terrorist attacks or guerrilla warfare.

They are designed to draw attention.

Menagerie was not big.

The people came.

* * *

Blake coughed.

She had been lucky. The force of the explosion had thrown her against the far wall with wood smacking into her, but at all the wrong angles to do her serious harm. She also had all her aura to take the blows, though she had none now.

Polar had not been so lucky. He had a stake near his heart. But his chest was still moving so it must have missed.

Mum and Dad were fine. They had no aura and there was a deep cut on Dad's face but they were okay.

In fact, thanks to Weiss now having her weapon, most were fine. There was a sheet of ice and earth between them and the remains of the wall. Holes had been punctured through them but the projects had lost much of their speed. She must have grabbed the rapier when she threw herself to the ground.

The only other one hurt was Mercury, who had a piece of wood jarred in his shoulder. With an annoyed eye-roll, he yanked the piece out and casually tossed it aside. His aura hadn't shattered, so he hadn't been hit hard enough to cause too much damage.

He had moved to protect Tiger.

Tiger hadn't moved.

His gunpowder was also scattered on the floor near him.

"This proves nothing," Tiger stated to Mercury.

"No," Mercury agreed. "But I think it's way past time you grew up and started living in reality. Remnant's reality and your reality. Not Adam's delusion. It'll get everyone killed."

It wasn't really Tiger's fault. Everyone knew that.

"We are," another snarled. He was only okay due to Weiss and Melody taking the brunt of what materials had managed to get through. "It's you who are delusional."

Mum stepped up. "I believe it is time for you all to leave. You have trespassed long enough and you should see to a doctor."

For a moment, no one moved.

Then Akorn stood up. He walked over to Tiger. He tugged at the vines, which Melody responded to by retracting them. Tiger stood up and instantly shoved him.

"Traitor."

Akorn flinched.

Then he took a deep breath.

"We both are."

Tiger looked like he wanted to hit him.

After a moment, he turned and waltzed out of the now open wall.

The others followed silently.

Including Akorn.

Melody went straight to Polar, who had been left behind.

Mercury waited until they were out of sight. "Do you think it's a good idea to let them go?" He too walked over to Polar and had a look for himself.

"Is he going to be okay?" Melody was pale, but her muscles tensed and focused.

"Give me a minute to look."

"To your question: no. But…not all ideas that saved people were good ideas."

Mercury scoffed.

"I have to say that _that_..." Melody gestured to the ice wall, earth wall and icy wall. " _That_ was a brilliant idea."

"Thank you," Weiss tried to smile. "I still need practice, it seems."

Blake decided not to mention exactly the place where the wall had failed and needed a body to stop its movement. A glance at Mercury showed there were no hard feelings for that decision.

"Don't suppose I should call you the next time a building's coming down, Diana?" Mercury asked idly.

"My rates are far more than you can afford."

"What, no discount?"

"You don't get as much as the others because I cannot be convinced you were not partially involved. Only Athena and Artemis receive less."

Mercury thought it over, then apparently decided Weiss was right enough that it wasn't worth arguing about. He placed a hand next to the stake in Polar and pulled his weapon into his hand. "Keep the pressure up. I'm going to remove it before it moves and then cauterize it."

"Shouldn't we wait for a doctor?" Blake asked. "I'm not okay with this."

"One wrong move and this will move the few millimeters into his heart. It needs to come out at the same angle it went in; best to do it now in case he wakes up before the doctor gets here."

Weiss created more ice. This time, she focused on Polar's shoulders and waist, keeping him from accidentally moving. "Be quick. He might get too cold."

The stake slid out. It was bloody but had few uneven edges.

Mercury threw it to Blake. "Check that."

Blake looked at it. "What do you mean?"

Dad took it from her. He very carefully ran his finger down it. "Very unlikely to be splinters. He's very lucky."

There was a slight sizzle. There was a strong searing smell.

Mercury sheathed his weapon. "All I can do. He needs a doctor."

"Yeah."

Blake's eyes caught flashlights outside.

Her parents saw it too.

Melody stood up. She folded her fingers into Blake's. "Are you ready?"

"…Yes."

Mum stayed with Polar. Dad came with them.

The assassination attempt was always going to be the easy bit.

Akorn was in the crowd waiting outside. The crowd that contained most of Menagerie's population with the doctors and medics at the front and had been approaching the house.

"We're all physically fine," Blake said tiredly. "But someone in there took a stake near his heart. We removed it and cauterized the wound." Dr Shadde nodded. He ran past her and into the house with another man. "He got caught in the explosion his own people caused."

"Blake-"

Blake didn't know who said it. It didn't matter. There was that tone she hated; the 'I knew this would happen' tone.

"Don't." She waved at her friends. "Except for Weiss, what are my friends? Faunus or human?"

…

No words.

Plenty of looks: confusion, anger, worry…

But no words.

"If that is too difficult, then I will give you a hint. One is a Faunus and one is a human. Which is which and why."

Most were trying.

But no one made a sound.

"Gael?"

Gael jumped at being addressed. Her eyes didn't match Blake's. Not after the way she had been glaring at Weiss.

"Heather?"

Heather met her gaze. She shrugged carelessly. She didn't know and she honestly didn't care.

Finally, Blake's eyes turned to her final target. "Jasper."

Jasper tilted his head. He didn't feel pressured. "I know. But only because of what my sister told me. What you told her. On my own…I think I would have got it wrong."

"And why is that?"

"Because I met him at the barbecue and wanted to dislike him." He addressed Mercury himself then. "You can be a jerk."

Mercury shrugged. "I know. But I have also have standards."

"I learned that. And…thanks."

He nodded in response.

Blake did not comment. Whatever it was, it was their business.

"If we let it, that is our future. To hide or mutilate ourselves for fairness. This injustice is what the White Fang once fought." Blake turned her head slightly. She gestured to her damaged home. Polar. "This is what they fight for now."

"You brought the Schnee here," Gael snarled.

Weiss met her gaze. "I won't deny it and I'm not proud of it. I did believe that all Faunus were scum only a few years ago."

There were angry growls.

Blake forced herself to keep still.

"I believed all Faunus were like the White Fang; violent sociopaths. Then I met Velvet. Agua. Fyrn. Dale. The other Faunus I know at Beacon that don't want to be identified as such yet." She smiled slightly. Her eyes settled on Akorn for moment before moving again. "I didn't even know Blake was a Faunus until the Vytal Festival. Mercury I only found out about tonight. The interesting thing is that they had different reasons: Blake wanted to hide in the shadows and just live at that point while Mercury didn't think it important enough to bring up and with him you would never notice unless someone brought it up." She half-glared at him then. "It wasn't even that you were hiding it; you just don't care."

He grinned at her. "Hey, I like being a Faunus. There's great perks over being completely human."

Something occurred to Weiss then. "Night vision. You cheated."

"Hardly. I had a tactical advantage and I exploited it. After your long list of rules of what we weren't allowed to do, I'm surprised that wasn't on there."

The mob were cautiously returning to a crowd.

But there were those that weren't interested in anything but blaming Weiss for the first violence in Menagerie for so many years.

Blake cleared her throat. "Mercury completed the advance course at Beacon and passed Mane Graduation. He is a qualified Huntsman and so has access to evidence that is not so simple or honestly moral to get hold of. Who wants to hear it?"

There was a brief quiet.

Jasper, one of the few that wasn't antagonistic at all, asked the question. "Hear what?"

"The real reason why my home was attacked."

"Lies!"

It was a hiss, but it was a popular one.

Mercury raised his scroll. "I've got a recording. The voices are very clear and there is no room for mistake. If you think I've doctored it, I'll point out that I know three of you at least are good with programmes and will hand it over for you to check."

Melody glanced at him with a very small shake of the head. He stopped his words there.

The 'unless you want to tag it on yourselves so you can continue to live in your perfect isolated bubble' were not to be said. It was wrong.

That was magicals. Not Faunus.

Blake knew that.

Magicals lived in isolation, away from muggles. It is very easy to look down and resent something that you don't interact with.

The Faunus came here after the 'gift' to get away from the war and racism, but they never forgot it. It festered instead and humans weren't people anymore to some.

There was a longer quiet.

"No one." Blake stated. She couldn't even say she was that surprised. "No one wants the evidence when it is offered and yet switches to mob mentality with nothing."

'Nothing' wasn't quite accurate, especially with what Weiss just said.

Few of her audience seem to have realised that, fortunately. Those that had were the younger ones who knew Weiss and Blake as people, not faceless names.

"It is hardly nothing."

Blake tensed. But she stood tall and waited as Ilia appeared. From completely invisible to natural colour. She was standing only a few feet away.

"I saw what I saw. Weiss Schnee deliberately dropped her weapon. When all of you were safe, she dropped her weapon. When you spoke of endless war between Faunus and humans, she was the first to drop her weapon. Weiss Schnee was the one who saved you all from the explosion, including those who intended to kill her."

Blake quietly let out a long breath.

Ilia continued, emotion creeping in. This was confusion. "I saw the broadcast when Weiss Schnee celebrated your victory at the Vytal Festival."

Akorn smiled a little.

Ilia glanced at Mercury. The tone was sympathy and gratitude. "I pointed your friend in the direction of that evidence; I know what is on that scroll. I can verify it. Weiss Schnee had nothing to do with this attempted assassination."

Blake swallowed.

The people were uncertain; didn't know what to think.

Her gaze continued to move. She hesitated on Melody. Uncertainty. "I have honestly never met you."

Melody smiled. "I'm Melody. A pleasure to meet you."

"Ilia and likewise." Satisfaction. She also hesitated at Dad before giving him a respectful nod, which he returned. Ilia looked back at Blake with approval. "You chose most of your friends well Blake."

"I trust them to have my back any day."

"As these ones proved tonight." A moment. Finally, Ilia turned to the crowd. "Dale walked into a bookshop last week. He was given the same customer service as the human that was in the store with him and the human that came in after."

Blake could see where Ilia was going with this.

"So what?" Zee asked, genuinely confused.

"Equality." Blake affirmed. "Have we lost sight so much that we don't recognise what we were fighting for?"

There was no easy answer to racism.

Many of the people in Menagerie weren't involved with the fighting. They chose isolation.

But Tiger lived in Mengarie his whole life until a few weeks ago. Same with Coral. The youngest members were being recruited from here and they couldn't really go to their parents to talk about it because their parents didn't want to talk about it.

Blake didn't want to stir up an army. She knew she hadn't done that tonight.

She could only hope that she had at least opened up more understanding for those that were trapped. Like Akorn, Coral, Jasper and so many others.

Ilia was smiling.

At the very least, Blake was sure she hadn't lost Ilia.


	30. Goodbyes

**AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth**

* * *

Mercury hopped off the aura Grimm before dismissing it. He made a mental note to take an airship or boat the next time he travelled to Menagerie unless he absolutely had to. At least he was sure no one had seen it; that would have resulted in a lot of awkward questions and probably panic.

 _Well, Blake and Melody didn't panic to be fair. Neither did Ilia so it might not be that bad when the inevitable happens. Then again, do they even know that it is a Grimm?_

Emerald came out to meet him once he was in view of the house. "Everything good?"

Mercury had rang last night and given her a rough briefing. "For now."

"Good. Now get started with the treehouse."

He gave her a _look._ "Seriously?"

She gave him a smile and headed inside, joining Taiyang who had apparently decided to cook a feast for lunch.

 _She is._

Mercury sighed. He headed to the toolshed.

He was definitely putting the classic paint can trick in it when he was done. Maybe along with a few other things.

 _What is Raven doing here? Again._

Bird Raven wasn't paying him any attention. She was staring at the house.

Well. There was no way Mercury was ignoring that. He was getting rather sick of seeing her around, especially as she had no interest in actually talking to them. While he was satisfied she wasn't bringing her family around for tea, he had had enough of her not-visits.

Fluffy crept closer.

Raven either didn't notice him (rather likely as he had picked his bush well) or thought nothing of him (likely too).

A little closer…

Fluffy leapt.

Bird Raven never saw him coming.

Fluffy knocked her clear out of the tree and pinned her by her wings. He growled lowly at her; bared his teeth. His fur stood on end, an instinctive act to make him appear bigger and more dangerous.

Raven had been stunned for a moment, but quickly realised her situation. Her first instinct was to try and peck him.

 _The shoulder? Not the eyes? Obviously not used to fighting in bird form or doing anything in bird form other than spying. Does this qualify as stalking?_

"Fluffy?"

Fluffy twitched his tail to show he heard but he didn't move to look at her. He didn't stop growling though he did lower the volume.

Interestingly, Raven didn't seem interested in shifting back to human either.

The two both stayed unnaturally still.

"Fluffy. Off. Now."

Fluffy turned to look back, quietening.

Yang was almost unreadable. Her face was blank. Her body was still. She wasn't looking at Raven, but at him.

Fluffy took two steps back.

The raven immediately flew off.

Yang watched her go. She let out a long breath. She turned back to Fluffy.

"Dad wanted me to fetch you for lunch. We're going to help you with the treehouse after, okay?"

He rolled his fox eyes before checking over his shoulder. Raven had gone completely. He shifted back to Mercury and headed inside. While he walked to the bathroom to wash his hands, he glanced at the door, waiting for Yang to appear.

She did, almost instantly.

Before Mercury could talk to her, she disappeared into the kitchen.

When he joined her, she was as carefree as ever. On the surface at least.

Still, Mercury very much doubted Raven would heed his warning and stay away from their home.

/

Qrow had seen Fluffy pounce on Raven. He was slightly surprised scaring her was all he did.

And Raven had been scared. For a moment anyway.

Qrow followed her and made no attempt to hide himself. He was as fed up with her home visits as Silvertongue apparently was.

Enough was enough. Qrow was out of Patch far more than he was in it. If Raven wanted to talk to him, she would have to do it then.

 _Not like there's anything left to talk about._

Raven obviously noticed Qrow was following her. She stopped not too far from the shore. Only then did she shift back.

"Pet foxes Qrow? Really?"

Qrow shrugged, relieved that Raven hadn't made the connection. "Yang's fond of him and was already well trained. It's not like we could give him back after the circus went out of business."

"What did she do? Smuggle him out? Tai has apparently gotten into a habit of taking in worthless strays."

Qrow had done enough to redirect that train of thought and in no way was he touching the topic of worthless strays. It was time to get to the point.

"You are not a part of this family anymore Raven. You made that choice and I made mine. You chose your family and it is _not here._ It's time you stopped dropping by."

It said a lot that he couldn't read her well enough anymore to see if she was hurt by that.

As it was, she just shrugged.

"What's so wrong with catching up with my brother and daughter?"

"The fact you've never met said daughter?" Qrow was done with Raven. Every time he saw her… "Leave Raven and don't come back. If you still want to talk to me, for who cares what reason, then you can do it away from here. You know I don't stay here often."

"You've been staying here far more often recently," Raven noted. "How else am I supposed to catch up?"

"You don't."

…

Qrow sighed. "Why do you do this Raven? You have your tribe; I have them. Why do you keep turning up? Why won't you just leave us alone?"

"Brother-"

"Don't. Call me that. You know what? I don't care." He did. "Get out and don't come back. Next time, I'll let that fox or any of the others eat you. And if you or your family come anywhere near mine again, I will personally hunt you down myself."

Qrow wasn't backing down.

For once, Raven was the first to turn their back. She vanished into her portal.

Hopefully she wouldn't be back.

Both Tai and Qrow had made it clear they would get violent if they caught her here again.

Qrow knew he would. He honestly wasn't sure about Tai. That would probably depend on a lot of the circumstances.

 _At least we know from experience that we would notice when she opens a portal to one of us._

As he walked back to the house, Qrow went over the conversation again. Raven was one of the few people who would consider turning into an animal possible and Mercury's eyes barely changed when he shapeshifted. A normal fox would not have knocked a raven randomly out of a tree.

There was nothing in Raven's tone that suggested she thought it was anything other than a fox.

Mercury had also been less than complimentary about Ozpin when the two met.

 _It shouldn't cross her mind._

It shouldn't matter. Neither Mercury nor Raven wanted anything to do with the other.

However, Mercury was stubbornly sticking to his long trip alone across Anima. Somehow, Qrow couldn't shake the idea the two would meet and that day would be a disaster.

Right now though, it was Yang he was worried about.

Lunch was a casual and playful affair. The only talk was of the treehouse the four were going to build outside. The whole thing was quite technical; from the tree chosen to the necessities of waterproofing and temperature maintence.

Qrow could also see he wasn't the only one keeping an eye on Yang. Tai appeared just as worried to those who knew what to look for.

Yang was a little stiff, but otherwise showed no other sign of distress.

But she'd been like that for a few days so it could be anything.

And the day after tomorrow, she and the girls were heading back to Beacon while Mercury left for Haven.

 _Maybe Raven isn't as big of an issue for her as she is for us._

 _Hopefully._

Qrow never saw a raven around Patch again.

* * *

"Mercury. Thank you for coming."

Mercury shrugged. "Given what you paid me last time for a rather simple job, no brainer." This was going to be different though. He hadn't seen Ozpin look this depressed since the pair had gone through the missing person list for Mercury to confirm the fates of.

 _Would have been quicker just to say they're all dead but he wanted 'closure for the families'…Masochistic idiot._

Ozpin opened a book as Mercury sat down. He placed it in front of him. Talaria pounced off his shoulder to have a better look. She then began to snarl.

Mercury blinked. "What is that?"

"An Apathy."

Mercury picked it up. This was no textbook; he had read all the textbooks Beacon had on Grimm. It wasn't even one of the tales of Grimm. "There was no mention of Apathy anywhere in the Beacon syllabus."

Talaria stopped growling, but her teeth were still showing.

"There used to be. Since it was removed, there has been no change in the number of people dying due to them."

Humanoid Grimm. That was certainly different.

 _Apathy…The most unknown of Grimm save for those in the sea and have rather unique behaviours._

"'Drain the will to live'..."

"What little evidence there is of these Grimm is that they have very established territories and almost strict routes not too dissimilar to migration. Their known routes are blocked off as best we can but we don't know enough about them to know if they change routes if there are no humans for a number of years."

Hence the awkward trade routes one of the people in Atlas was complaining about. All other Grimm Mercury knew about could be fought with skill and numbers. These sound like things best suited for Ironwood's robots, provided there wasn't anyone in them.

"General Ironwood has spent the last two days compiling this map with the most updated information we have."

Mercury glanced up.

 _Ironwood's in on this too huh…_

"That…is a very bizarre map." He was around 99% sure, but he grabbed the mapbook out of his bag anyway. "Yeah, there's nothing near civilisation. Recently anyway." He frowned. "What are those numbers?" They were on some sites and not others.

"Apathy numbers, if known."

Apathy had an interesting size range. Some packs (or maybe hordes) were only twenty large while two were over one hundred. Geographically, they were all over the place but there were no current villages or cities.

"So what do you want from me? According to this, these things are nigh on unkillable."

"That is up for debate. There are very, very few that have tried and lived to tell the tale." He let out a long breath. "What myself and General Ironwood would like you to do is confirm or update our information. Many gaves their lives to ensure these hordes were as contained as could be and if there is a horde that is 'missing', we need to know and alert active Huntsmen in that area."

 _Of which there aren't many._

"So. How do they hunt exactly?"

"They very rarely attack head on. It might be coincidence but the accounts we have state they attack only if the victim is already aware of them. Otherwise, they seem content to wait until the victim dies in their sleep of despair or something similar. Look for them in the shadows; they are not the type to come to you."

"And these aren't in the syllabus because…?"

"They were but when the graduated students came across the Apathy in the field, they were too uncaring to try to remember the symptoms. However, they are similar to depression and a more detailed mental health course was added when Apathy were removed."

"It didn't help."

"No. However, it has helped with other problems so there was some success."

Mercury rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He checked the map again. "I suppose these aren't too out of my way." That was one incentive and the money was an even bigger one. "When was the last time this was checked?"

"Only the once for the initial data. No person can go anywhere near an Apathy." Ozpin looked him in the eye. "You are unique in that regard."

Mercury had the feeling he was going to be getting a lot of these types of jobs. That does mean he also has no competition for it.

 _Will to live…That shouldn't affect Talaria. Her idea of life and death is very different to a human's so she should be fine. I'll keep an eye on her and leave her somewhere safe if I need to. She obviously doesn't like even the look of these things._

"Sure."

Maybe he could kill them.

 _But given the locations and the fact that no person can go near without a very serious risk of dying, then if I am immune like Ozpin and Ironwood seem to believe, they might be nice boltholes if I ever need them._

Talaria twisted her head to look at him. She hissed.

Mercury tilted his own head a little. She normally didn't respond like that to a picture. It was normally scents.

 _Maybe I'll be leaving her outside the Apathy invested villages._

"Mercury."

Mercury's gaze went back to Ozpin. His face appeared blank, but he could tell. The man was worried.

"Are you sure about this?"

Mercury had been asked this a lot. "Ozpin, I know what I'm doing and I'll be careful." He gave him the calm smile. He waved at Talaria. "Besides, I'll have her with me."

"So you will. Good luck."

Mercury raised an eyebrow.

Ozpin just smiled.

"Sure, I'll take that too. It gets boring making my own."

"And make sure to keep in touch."

"Like Tai and Felix would let me get away with that."

/

"Blake, for the last time, I haven't touched your little library. You saw me arrive after you."

"Emerald, you have been asking to borrow that book for three weeks."

"And I accepted your decision."

"Then where do you think it went?"

"Nora's book fort during their pillow fight yesterday."

Yang stepped around Jaune as he entered BRN's dorm to sort the two out. She entered her own as Ruby started hanging up her clothes with Melody's help.

"-just worried."

Ruby tilted her head. "Melody, remember our first Vytal Festival? There's almost certainly something more going on here."

Melody sighed. "I know that. But he's not telling me. That worries me even more."

Yang sensed trouble here. "Something wrong?"

Ruby frowned a little. "Nyall's been distant for a while; not long after she left him in the holidays."

 _Ah._

Yang turned her attention to Melody, who was glaring at a dress. "Well, did you do anything?"

"I don't think so. But…Even when I was there, he was acting odd." She began frowning herself. "Now you mention it, his behaviour is a lot like Ares' during that Festival. What was the real story there?"

Ruby and Yang looked at each other. Even if this was Melody, they didn't want to tell.

"He had…a lot of external pressures," Ruby replied. "I'm…I don't really want to talk about it. But if it is something that important, then we can ask Mercury to look into it when he gets to Haven? I mean, it turned out that he wasn't really trying to avoid _us_ exactly but..." Ruby froze.

"We really don't want to talk about it," Yang finished. "I know it won't be the same things, but maybe Nyall is less attentive to you because his mind is so stressed with something else."

Melody removed Ruby's new ball dress from the suitcase and gave it to her. "Maybe. But I don't want Mercury spying on him or anything like that." She took a deep breath. "What happened at the Vytal Festival back then?"

Yang and Ruby exchanged a look. Then Yang sighed.

"Melody…let's just say that Mercury's past isn't exactly _clean._ " Understatement of the millennium. "He had a criminal for a parent so of course he was exposed to the wrong things and…well, let's just say that there were a lot of red flags for security to be interested in him. He wanted to keep us away from that until it was sorted."

Melody gave her a very unimpressed look. "Uh huh."

Ruby winced. "Melody-"

Melody waved a hand. "Ruby, I trust Mercury. He's one of my best friends, just like the others and you. He's not like…However, if you think I don't know that explanation is one of the most edited things ever, then I'm not as much of an idiot as you thought."

Ruby deflated a little.

Yang considered. "Melody, what if Nyall's a secret keeper? Like us. He might have just received more than he bargained for when trying to help someone."

Yang was checking up on Tuddar today. He had been making a lot of progress but he still needed a placebo injection once a month. It was far down from what he started with and he was getting comfortable enough with Yang to talk about the reasons why he ended up on drugs in the first place. She was proud of him.

 _I'll call the others as well; see how they're faring._

"Maybe. I only met one of his teammates. Maybe it was something there. I'm sure he'll tell me when he's ready."

"Right."

"Or, at the very least, he respects me enough to _tell_ me he's not interested anymore."

"I'm sure he still feels the same way about you." Blake had entered the room. She gently rubbed Melody's back. "Some things just take time to sort out. Just make sure you know why you're losing your temper with him."

Melody made a non-committed noise. "Saturn told me the hand to hand club starts again tomorrow if you're interested."

Ruby smiled happily with a little hop. "Sounds like more fun. Back later." She dashed out of the room.

Yang chuckled and checked Ruby's case to make sure it was now empty. "You sure you're okay Melody?"

"I'm fine. And I'm going to follow Ruby's example and check on some people."

If that was how everyone was going to spend the next few hours, then Yang should too. It would let her catch up with more than the ones she was planning to see.

Maybe she would give Nyall a call at some point, without telling Melody. Or mentioning the main reason she was calling. With the Haven headmaster almost certainly working for Salem, Yang was a little worried for those students.

And more than she would admit for Mercury to his face.

* * *

It hadn't been that long since everyone had been clingy when they greeted him, but Mercury couldn't really complain either time. Last time they hadn't seen him for almost five months and knew he was the first kidnap victim. This time he was leaving for a solo journey (save Talaria) across Remnant and BRN wouldn't see him until the Vytal Festival. JWMP weren't even sure they were going to this year's, so it might be even longer for them.

Mercury may understand it and he would accept it. That didn't mean he had to like it.

 _Although I'm pretty sure this qualifies as an attack._

Actually…

"Okay Nora. Get off."

With a happy grin, Nora bounced off back to Ren's side. Apparently, she had run on ahead; even ahead of Yang, Ruby and Emerald. Those three hung back as the others said their goodbyes. They were trying to smile, but it didn't quite meet their eyes.

Ren's hug was less suffocating, but just as firm. "Happy travels and be careful."

"Of course." Mercury gave him a pat on the back before Ren stepped back.

 _This is going to be all hugs, isn't it._

Melody was a bit in-between the two. She did let go of him quicker. "Look after yourself. I'll keep an eye on your videos."

Of course she would bring that up. He let out a chuckle. "Well, Jagoda is certain it should be fine. We'll see tonight if that's still true."

"We'll blame you completely if it is not," Weiss commented, stepping forward. She held out her hand, which Mercury grasped and shook. "I wish you luck."

"Don't become an insomniac Princess." There wasn't the same bite there had been two years ago. In fact, Mercury was satisfied with the no bite at all. "Thanks and same to you."

Blake offered another handshake. Her hand was shaking a little when he took it, but he would have had trouble seeing it. "Thank you and enjoy your journey. I'll see you at the end of the year."

"I expect a good performance then too." The main thing he regretted about that night was that he didn't get to see Blake and Ruby's spar live. The replay had been very impressive.

"We won't disappoint."

Mercury smiled at the next two. "Invicible Girl and Vomit Boy."

Jaune gave him a mock growl. "Watch it barbarian." Then he gave Mercury a hug. Over his shoulder, Pyrrha was giving him a wide, genuinely happy smile.

Mercury gave him a pat on the back as well. "I can rely on you two to look after these miscreants." It was a statement, not a question.

"Of course," Pyrrha promised. It was all he could ask. When Jaune stepped back, Pyrrha hugged him also. She let go swiftly and all of them put some distance from him and the remaining three.

They didn't take turns. It was the group hug that he had now become so familiar with. The touch that had gotten through his defences to be classed as a comfort.

He didn't read their aura exactly, but he could certainly sense it. He knew all those emotions now. To his relief, among the drift, there wasn't any anger or dread. His aura now felt warm to them.

There weren't any words, verbal or otherwise.

On his way out, Mercury saw quite a few faces in the windows and by the doors. Had most of Beacon seen him off?

 _I hardly know these people. Why are they giving me this respect?_

A question for years in the future, if he lived that long.

He had taken an airship to get on the right continent; he had no interest in swimming or hitching a ride on the Grimm aura dragon.

 _I should probably give that thing a name. The girls aren't going to stop until I do. Same with the fox. I am not having another 'Fluffy', 'Merkitty' or 'Coppera'._

Mercury stepped off onto a dock, but there wasn't much in terms of buildings that he could see from the sky. The large array of boats suggested this was primarily a fishing village. Maybe they received some money for allowing ships to land here.

Besides him, there were three other passengers: two men and a woman. They all knew where they were going and quickly disappeared.

Talaria climbed out of his hood. Her head turned and she chittered happily.

"You are not eating any of their fish."

A quiet whine mixed with an annoyed growl.

After a moment, Mercury headed onto the main road. This should take him through the village and on the path to his next stop: Winding Willow Way. He was going to be very disappointed if it didn't live up to its name.

Talaria snarled a little. Mercury glanced around, but couldn't see what had aggrevated her. She was lying on his shoulder, staring at a certain house. A window was open, but the curtains were pulled in every window.

In fact, every house was the same.

 _Interesting._

Mercury didn't investigate. He could think of quite a few reasons why everyone was shutting themselves away from the world. The social posters plastered around the place were all old and had been exposed to at least one poor weather day. The dates were all from months ago.

 _Note to self: check the obituaries for the next stops along the route._

He had already checked: there were no missions for around this area.

It only took an hour at a good pace to leave the village behind entirely. Rather than a gradual decrease of houses, the final ones were just in a line before they stopped.

There were no barriers and their population was small, so there would be few Huntsmen. Given how easy it would be to smuggle people out, this village had probably been hit bad.

 _And yet, no Grimm. I can't see bandits attacking here; there's nothing for them. Same with serial killers really and I doubt they breed them intentionally. A community like this would notice abuse._

None of this was Mercury's problem.

Winding Willow Way was about a two day walk from here. There was a traveller's stop that had been overrun by Grimm years ago due to a bandit attack. He may stop there for the night; he didn't fancy camping in the rain if he didn't have to.

 _This isn't a well travelled path. I'm not likely to run into anyone here._

A search around with his aura/Grimm vision showed he was alone as far as he could see. That surprised him slightly; he more than half expected Qrow to follow him.

"Okay Talaria. Why did you go to Beacon's alpha last night?"

Last night, Qrow had seen Talaria leaving home. She had responded with 'Not Nest. Nest Alpha.' That translated into Beacon's Alpha: Ozpin.

When Mercury had non-verbally asked, Ozpin didn't open the conversation. That interested Mercury, but he didn't press at the time. He wasn't even sure Ozpin really understood what Talaria meant when she communicated. Understanding Atlesian Code was one thing (especially her version). Realising what she wanted was another entirely.

{Beacon Alpha has power. Need it.}

 _Well, that's no help._

Mercury didn't reply immediately. 'Power' had a wide range of meaning for people. He had never heard Talaria use it.

"Did he give you power?"

{Yes.}

Okay. When he stopped for the night, Mercury was calling Ozpin. If the man had given Talaria magic, Mercury needed to know what. Why did he not mention this earlier? He had acknowledged something was up with Talaria and he did mention things that were relevant, even if it was just a reassurance that the Relic of Knowledge would not activate by accident.

 _Then again, given the track record, Ozpin might not know what the result actually is. I highly doubt he intended to make the Maidens the only ones who could open vault doors and why would he put such rules on the Maiden inheritance itself?_

"What power?"

Talaria made a higher pitch growl. She either didn't know or didn't know how to tell him.

 _Seriously Ozpin. How did she communicate that to you? And why would you even agree?_

The only thing Mercury could think of was that Ozpin was just as worried about Mercury's safety as Tai and Felix were. Even if that were the case, giving magic to Talaria with apparently no idea what was going to happen was just asking for trouble. Ozpin wasn't normally _that_ much of an idiot.

"Why do you need power?"

Talaria chitted that laugh. {Mother Fledging. Pack.}

 _Great. Was starting to evolve aura not enough for you? I'm having enough trouble keeping you safe as it is. Maybe I should have left you at home._

 _Still don't regret it._

Time to experiment again. It would be best if Mercury figured out exactly what this magic would do. The last thing he needed was Talaria breathing fire in the middle of the next village. He was quite sure they still lived in wooden huts.

 _Now. Where to start?_

* * *

The small chip clipped onto the scroll effortlessly. A poke and there was a red light. Another poke and there was no light.

"Okay." Yang walked over and check Jagoda's larger screen. She poked the light back on. One quarter of the large screen connected to her screen. "So far so good."

"You've got a very strong signal. Mercury's is the only risk and it should work…"

Yang checked the time. They had planned to start up at eight so he still had a few minutes. It took that amount of time to set up Ruby's and Emerald's as apparently one of the recording chips wasn't working right.

All four screens were on.

"Yes!" Ruby punched the air. She skimmed through her scroll and quickly booted up the game. "Can you hear us, Merc?"

"Loud and clear."

Same for him. He could have been in the room with them; there was none of that normal static.

There was a snap in the background.

"Hang on…" Jagoda did something on the keys. "Okay, I've just removed his background and I should probably do the same to yours."

"Okay." Yang put on the headset complete with mic and plugged it into her scroll. "This is going to be fun."

"And a real good job Jagoda," Emerald stated. "I can see someone even from Atlas employing you."

Jagoda did smile. "Maybe. Let's get the show on the road."

* * *

 **AN: This is going to be following Mercury and a few others for a while as that is where the main action is. While Beacon has the normal high school drama, much of it is not related to the plot**


End file.
